Delay in the Hunt c. 18th century

Curator: Here we have Delay in the Hunt by Anton Tischler, currently residing in the Harvard Art Museums. Editor: It’s got a very workaday feel, doesn’t it? Not the triumphant hunt scenes we often see, but something…slower, maybe more true to the actual labor involved. Curator: Absolutely. It depicts not the nobility in action, but rather a scene of everyday life disrupted by the hunt, highlighting the support systems necessary for such aristocratic pursuits. Editor: Look at the figures repairing the horse gear. And the beggar in the foreground. The print shows the backside of aristocratic leisure, its dependence on labor and even on those excluded from its benefits. Curator: The artist brings these usually unseen figures into focus. This print allows us to contemplate the economic and social structures of the period. Editor: It forces you to confront the means of this wealthy lifestyle. A stark reminder that hunting, for some, is a sport built on the backs of others.