Dogs bringing down a stag

Paul de Vos was one of the most prolific painters of animal hunting scenes of the seventeenth century. While his work was very much influenced by that of his brother-in-law, Frans Snyders, de Vos developed his own personal style and consequently enjoyed substantial success during his lifetime, particularly with the Spanish nobility. Peter Paul Rubens is documented as owning three of de Vos's paintings at the time of his death, and it is likely that the two artists worked together on some compositions. Like so many of his contemporaries, de Vos often employed other Flemish artists to supply staffage or landscape elements for his paintings. Such was the case with this present painting, in which de Vos's hounds and stag act out the dramatic hunt.

We are grateful to Fred Meijer, of the RKD in The Hague, for confirming the attribution on the basis of photographs (private communication, 12 October 2011). He suggests that the landscape was provided by de Vos's longtime collaborator Jan Wildens, or perhaps a member of Wildens's studio.