Hunting scene, 18th century, Oil on canvas

This narrative-rich 18th-century painting most likely transports us to a lively hunting scene featuring noble men and women, killers and a horde of dogs hunting game.This painting offers a highly detailed composition, featuring the hunters, their horses and a steep, mountainside landscape that opens onto a deep perspective.The lord and his wife are on horseback in the foreground, and are accompanied by a number of highly detailed figures in full activity, including beaters, villagers, servants and dogs. On the right, a thatched cottage and a peasant woman look out over the scene.In the background, a village citadel rises up: the watchtower defends the entrance to the village on the side of a ravine, linked to the foreground by a narrow arched bridge, and the church steeple can be seen in the distance among the roofs of the village houses.Finally, in the last shot, a mountain landscape bathed in majestic blue and pink skies crowns this hunting scene.The framing is well mastered and dynamic: indeed, the succession of shots is remarkable, with strong narrative elements that give real depth to this vivid painting.Beautifully framed in rosewood and blackened pearwood, the painting has been cleaned, restored and mounted on canvas by our professional restoration workshop.