Sharing Out the Game
by ORLEY, Bernaert van, Pen, brown ink with wash, 387 x 537 mm
This drawing was made for the commissioner of the tapestry series of The Hunts of Maximilian. Praising hunting as the sport of the noblemen, the tapestries recorded the preparation for the hunt, the setting out, the hunt itself and the feast, according to the twelve months of the year. The tapestries were woven after the design by Bernaert van Orley in the Brussels workshop of Jan and Willem Dermoyen between 1531 and 1533.
The drawing was prepared for the tapestry corresponding to the month of November which depicts the preparation for the sharing out the food from the prey.