Herten nagejaagd door jachthonden 1671

Richard Gaywood created this engraving of deer being chased by dogs in the 17th century, but the exact date of its creation is unknown. The image presents a traditional country sport that was a popular pursuit of the gentry in England at the time. By visually recording the pursuit, Gaywood provided a potent symbol of the political and social dominance of the land-owning elite in English society. We see wealthy men on horseback directing the hunt, contrasted with the deer fleeing for their lives and the dogs straining at the leash. The print also presents a poetic warning inscribed below the image of the animals being killed by the gamekeeper. Historians interested in the social and political dimensions of art would want to know about the history of hunting laws and land ownership in 17th-century England in order to understand this image better.