Venationes ferarum, avium, piscium (Hunts of wild animals, birds and fish). Plate 69. Quail and rabbit hunt.

This print is the work of three major Flemish figures of the late 16th century: the original artist Jan Van der Straet (a.k.a. Stradanus), the engraver Jan Collaert II; and the publisher Philips Galle. The success of Van der Straet's cartoons for a hunting series to decorate the Medici villa at Poggio a Caiano, near Florence (1566-77), led to the leading Flemish publishers Heronymus Cock, and subsequently Galle, to commission related engravings in the 1570s and 1580s. (Galle also engraved/published other works by Van der Straet, including his Crucifixion, in Te Papa's collection).

These proved so popular that in 1596 Galle published the ambitious, 105 plate volume Venationes, ferarum, arium, piscium (Hunts of wild animals, birds and fish), engaging several engravers including Collaert, all based on original drawings by the prolific Van der Straet.  Bird hunts form an important sub-theme. The volume was republished by Philips Galle's son, Johannes, in 1634.

This print depicts quail-trapping, with a rabbit thrown in for good measure. The Renaissance Latin inscription, immediately below the image, explains what is happening.  A translation has been kindly provided by Tim Smith (Victoria University of Wellington): 'At the time of the corn harvest, the hunter lays out an outstretched net for the quails. As the hound barks, the company advances quickly across the field, catching them. The bird-catcher then seizes the flocks, gathered together in vain'.

See: Chris Michaelis, http://blogs.bl.uk/european/2015/09/joannes-stradanus-and-his-hunting-scenes.html

Dr Mark Stocker           Curator, Historical International Art            March 2017