Jachtpartij van de edelen en de graaf, 1296 1662 - 1664

This is a 13th-century hunting scene of nobles and a count rendered in ink on paper by an anonymous artist. The composition is dominated by a procession of mounted figures, leading the eye from the lower left towards a distant townscape. Note how the artist uses line and scale to organize the image into distinct zones. The foreground is occupied by the hunting party, detailed with cross-hatched shading to create depth and texture in the figures and horses. Mid-ground is suggested by the diminishing size of the figures as they recede into the distance and the flat plain. The background features a city with a prominent church tower. The use of line is particularly striking. Notice how the repetition of vertical lines in the trees and figures creates a sense of rhythm, while the horizontal lines of the landscape provide a sense of stability. The artist’s structural use of perspective invites us to consider how space and distance can be manipulated to convey narrative and social hierarchy. What can the relation between the landscape and the riders tell us about power?