A Hunter 1670 - 1682

Pieter Leermans painted "A Hunter," an oil on canvas, sometime between 1668 and 1704. It depicts a man at rest from his hunt, a rifle at his side. Hunting scenes were very popular in the Netherlands at the time. But who was this entertainment for? Landowners in the Dutch Republic frequently enclosed land, and hunting rights were vigorously defended. Hunting was both a mark of social status and a way of reinforcing social hierarchy, and an image like this would have reminded viewers of the landed gentry and their right to pursue game. We could consider this painting to be about the politics of imagery. By presenting hunting as a genteel, pastoral activity, the artist obscures the social and economic realities of life in the Dutch Republic. To fully understand this work, we should consult estate records to learn about the distribution of land and game.