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Lot Essay
Born in Danzig, probably in 1630, Ruthart had arrived in Rome by 1659 and is assumed to be the 'Carlo Routtart' registered in the liggeren of the Antwerp Guild of St. Luke in 1664. He is recorded in Regensburg in the same year and in 1665-7 in Vienna, working for Kurfürst Karl Eusebius von Liechtenstein. However, he returned to Italy where he entered the Celestine order at the monastery of S. Eusebio in Rome in 1672. Probably not long afterwards he moved to the abbey of S. Maria di Collemaggio at L'Aquila, north-east of Rome, where he was last recorded in 1703.
Ruthart is known for his depictions of wild animals, often shown, as here, fighting in imaginary landscapes. Although his hunting scenes reflect the compositional types of Flemish painters such as Frans Snyders, Paul de Vos, Jan Fyt and David de Coninck, his style is distinguished by the originality of his compositions and the precision of his individual technique. This composition is closely related to a picture of approximately the same dimensions in the Louvre, Paris (inv. no. 1823). However, the high quality and great detail of the present picture are not indicative of its being a secondary version. For another scene of bears fighting, see the picture sold at Sotheby's, Monaco, 15-16 June 1990, lot 261 (FFr. 200,000).
Ruthart is known for his depictions of wild animals, often shown, as here, fighting in imaginary landscapes. Although his hunting scenes reflect the compositional types of Flemish painters such as Frans Snyders, Paul de Vos, Jan Fyt and David de Coninck, his style is distinguished by the originality of his compositions and the precision of his individual technique. This composition is closely related to a picture of approximately the same dimensions in the Louvre, Paris (inv. no. 1823). However, the high quality and great detail of the present picture are not indicative of its being a secondary version. For another scene of bears fighting, see the picture sold at Sotheby's, Monaco, 15-16 June 1990, lot 261 (FFr. 200,000).