Hunting scene
Collection:CSM Museum & Study Collection
Date: 1652-1654
Maker: Francis Cleyn
Engraver: Wenceslaus Hollar
Dimensions:
252 x 192 mm (25.2 x 19.2 cm)
Medium: paper, ink
Object number: P.725
DescriptionEtching of a hunting scene, the subject is derived from Virgil’s Aeneid which describes Ascanius, the son of the Trojan hero Aeneas, hunting in the countryside of Latium with his companions. Unknowingly he is the instrument of the Fury Allecto who has been sent by the goddess Juno to provoke war. Allecto alerts the hunting dogs to the presence of the regal stag that has come to take refreshment in the cool river. The stag is the tame pet of Silvia, the daughter of Tyrrheus, ranger to the king of the Latins. Ascanius mortally wounds the stag, setting in motion a train of events that lead to war.