Hazenjacht 1671

Curator: Here we have Wenceslaus Hollar’s "Hazenjacht," or "Hare Hunting," an etching and drawing from 1671 currently held in the Rijksmuseum collection. What’s your initial impression of it? Editor: It's wild, like a finely rendered frenzy! All these hounds, horses, and hunters swirling across the landscape...It almost feels cruel, yet so elegantly captured in all its chaos. Curator: Cruelty was indeed an integral part of hunting's cultural function for the aristocratic elite. Hollar created many prints that showcased leisure activities, reflecting the societal norms and power structures of the time. What elements contribute to your impression? Editor: Well, the detail for one. Each dog seems to have its own distinct personality; there's urgency etched on every face and every posture. You can practically hear the barking and the thundering of hooves. Then, that verse beneath the image! "Much terror and great payne, yet dyes she by their mouths, all proves but vayne" says a lot about this type of hunting. Curator: Yes, Hollar's prints often incorporate text that adds layers of meaning. He often played with moralizing themes reflecting on vanity. But, also bear in mind this image and the act of hunting served important social purposes, consolidating wealth and displaying power through land ownership and hunting rights. Editor: I guess it is just a slice of their lives, literally carved into a plate and printed. Even that lone hare adds to the scene. A melancholic tone that suggests not only their world but its impact on the creatures sharing it. Curator: Precisely. "Hazenjacht" provides a lens through which we can view seventeenth-century social hierarchies and the complex relationship between humans and the natural world at that time. Editor: It’s more than just documenting the hunting activities from that period; it shows how art served to display class status back then.