Winter Landscape with Hunter and Dogs

After his return to Antwerp from Italy around 1616-17, the eclectically oriented Jan Wildens played a great role as a painter of backgrounds in the work of other artists. His production would until his death continue to be based to an important extent on filling in the backgrounds of history pictures by leading Antwerp masters. Besides Rubens, these included Abraham Janssens, Cornelis de Vos, Gerard Seghers and Theodoor Rombouts. In addition he often provided the background decor for animal pictures by Frans Snyders and Paul de Vos, with whom he was connected by marriage.

From about 1620 Wildens’s landscapes were marked by a clearer and at the same time more realistic composition. The viewpoint is lower, and what might be called a classical harmony is apparent in the composition, created by clumps of trees used as structural features. In a few cases, such as the two versions (in Dresden and St. Petersburg) of the Winter Landscape with Hunter and Dogs, monumental an sculpturally accentuated figures also support these well-balanced compositions. In others, such as the Landscape with Shepherds Dancing, the figures are well integrated into the space.

Suggested listening (streaming mp3, 15 minutes):

Joseph Haydn: The Seasons, Part 4 Winter, excerpts