A panoramic landscape with a huntsman on a path and a manor house with formal gardens beyond

Jacques d'Arthois achieved great distinction in his own lifetime as a the leading artist of the Brussels landscape tradition and at the time of his death he owned several houses and a significant collection of paintings. One of his houses was near the Forêt de Soignes, a large forest to the southeast of Brussels, from which he derived much of his inspiration, specialising in depicting the varied views from the edges of the forest, rather than the bosky forest interior. Typical of his oeuvre is the present landscape, which is dominated by a group of tall trees on a pathway that winds through the composition, giving way to a panoramic, brightly illuminated view of the landscape around Brussels and an as yet unidentified manor house.