Art UK has updated its cookies policy. By using this website you are agreeing to the use of cookies. To find out more read our updated Use of Cookies policy and our updated Privacy policy.

A Stag Hunt in a Forest

Image credit: The National Gallery, London

How you can use this image

This image can be used for non-commercial research or private study purposes, and other UK exceptions to copyright permitted to users based in the United Kingdom under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, as amended and revised. Any other type of use will need to be cleared with the rights holder(s).

Review the copyright credit lines that are located underneath the image, as these indicate who manages the copyright (©) within the artwork, and the photographic rights within the image.

The collection that owns the artwork may have more information on their own website about permitted uses and image licensing options.

Review our guidance pages which explain how you can reuse images, how to credit an image and how to find images in the public domain or with a Creative Commons licence available.

Buy a print or image licence

You can purchase this reproduction

If you have any products in your basket we recommend that you complete your purchase from Art UK before you leave our site to avoid losing your purchases.

Notes

Add or edit a note on this artwork that only you can see. You can find notes again by going to the ‘Notes’ section of your account.

The picture of a hunt, with aristocratic riders wielding spears and the stag surrounded by hounds all ready for the kill, might not be to everyone’s taste today. But the speed and vitality of the animals and the huntsman blowing the horn – the stag itself moving with such energy that it still just might escape – catch the attention and hold the eye. It’s an exciting scene whatever you think of the subject.

The staffage (figures in a painting) is by Nicholaes Berchem, the landscape by Jan Hackaert. Two artists sharing the making of a painting was quite usual at the time. Hackaert’s birch forest has a high canopy of feathery leaves that allows light to filter through to the calm river. Berchem’s lively figures and animals give the drama to the painting: the dogs at the heels of the stag, the riders surrounding them ready to attack, the boy horn blower splashing through the water in his cuffed boots.

The National Gallery, London

London

Title

A Stag Hunt in a Forest

Date

probably about 1660

Medium

Oil on canvas

Measurements

H 99.7 x W 120 cm

Accession number

NG829

Acquisition method

Bought, 1871

Work type

Painting

Tags

See a tag that’s incorrect or offensive? Challenge it and notify Art UK.

Help improve Art UK. Tag artworks and verify existing tags by joining the Tagger community.

Normally on display at

The National Gallery, London

Trafalgar Square, London, Greater London WC2N 5DN England

This venue is open to the public. Not all artworks are on display. If you want to see a particular artwork, please contact the venue.
View venue