Valkenier met page omringd door honden after 1680

This print of a huntsman with his page and dogs was made by Bartholomeus van Lochom in the 17th century. The huntsman, the dogs, and the hawk are motifs that represented aristocracy. Hunting with falcons was a favorite pastime of nobles across Europe in this era. Lochom was based in the Netherlands, a rising economic power at the time. The Dutch Republic had a thriving art market, and artists developed new genres and catered to the tastes of a broader audience. While emblems of wealth and status often appeared in art, they were sometimes presented ironically, as Dutch society was developing new, bourgeois values. How should we interpret this image? Is it simply a celebration of aristocratic life? Or does the artist include the nobleman as an element of design, without necessarily endorsing his values? By studying the cultural context and the artist’s other work, we can better understand its place in the history of Dutch society.