Still-Life of Dead Birds and Hunting Weapons
by AELST, Willem van, Oil on canvas, 86,5 x 68 cm
The ostentatious display of killed animals after hunt had a representational and symbolic function. The motif of a dead animal hanging upside down - an actual hunting custom - had been taken over by 17th century Dutch painters from earlier artists such as Jacopo de’ Barbari and Lucas Cranach the Elder.
Suggested listening (streaming mp3, 9 minutes):
Joseph Haydn: The Seasons, Part 3 Autumn, aria and chorus (Hunters’ chorus)