Hans Bol

Anonymous sale, New York, Sotheby's, 26 May 2005, lot 1;
Where purchased by the present owner.

The following condition report has been provided by Simon Parkes of Simon Parkes Art Conservation, Inc. 502 East 74th St. New York, NY 212-734-3920, simonparkes@msn.com, an independent restorer who is not an employee of Sotheby's. This work is in beautiful condition. It does not appear to be retouched, although gouache is not necessarily the easiest medium to view under ultraviolet light. This work should be presented behind glass in order to protect the beautiful and delicate surface.
"This lot is offered for sale subject to Sotheby's Conditions of Business, which are available on request and printed in Sotheby's sale catalogues. The independent reports contained in this document are provided for prospective bidders' information only and without warranty by Sotheby's or the Seller."

Bol's elegant and beautiful landscape gouaches, often extensively heightened with gold, include some of the greatest achievements of late 16th-century landscape painting.  Combining elements and qualities from much earlier traditions of manuscript illumination with an observational clarity that owes much to Pieter Breugel, Bol was a unique artistic personality.  Many of his gouaches are, like this, executed on vellum, laid down on panel, and were probably conceived as 'cabinet miniatures,' to be kept and displayed in a wunderkamer.  

Here, a sunny and bucolic landscape is juxtaposed rather dramatically with a gruesome hunting scene. Throughout the left middle and foreground a group of hunters with their hounds seek to tame, capture, and kill a sleuth of bears. In one smaller group a mans entire lower half is devoured whilst a pack of dogs attempt (and fail) to fend the bear off. Bol captures a quieter moment in the lower right corner as one hunter takes a break from the action against a tree trunk as he tenderly pets his canine companion. Above them a dead fox hangs from a branch, no doubt meant to serve as a lure for the hungry bears below.