Four Lifesized Bear's Heads c. 1714 - 1718

Johann Melchior Roos painted these four life-sized bear heads in oil on canvas, at an unknown date. Roos came from a family of artists who specialized in animal paintings and were very successful in Germany and the Netherlands during the Baroque period. This painting would likely have been commissioned for a wealthy, aristocratic patron who would have used it to decorate their hunting lodge or castle. During this period, hunting was a favorite pastime of the European aristocracy as a way to show off their wealth, power, and bravery. Displaying paintings of animals they hunted was a way of commemorating their hunting achievements and demonstrating their dominance over nature. To fully appreciate the art and social history of a painting like this, it’s important to examine both the visual representation and the social context in which it was created. By looking into sources from the period, such as hunting manuals, aristocratic journals, and estate inventories, it becomes clear how these images were powerful symbols of social status, dominance, and control.