Hertenjacht 1624

This is an anonymous etching of a deer hunt. It is currently located in the Rijksmuseum. The image captures a scene that speaks to the complex intersection of class, power, and cultural norms. The hunters on horseback, engaged in their pursuit, embody the aristocratic privilege of the era, where hunting was a preserve of the wealthy. Yet, at the edge of the scene is a figure in a turban. This figure introduces questions of race and the role of non-Europeans in European society. Were they servants, exoticized figures in a spectacle of power, or something else? There is a visual tension, and the cruelty inherent in the hunt invites us to reflect on historical power dynamics. The landscape seems both indifferent and complicit in the scene. The work invites us to contemplate the narratives of identity and hierarchy that shaped its creation.