Jan Wyck (1645–1702), From The Studio Of, *a Noble Couple Hunting*

Jan Wyck (1645–1702), workshop of

A Pair of Nobles Hunting

oil on panel, 15 x 44 cm – with frame, 30 x 59 cm

A pair of nobles on horseback crosses the edge of a forest, heading toward the spot where the hunt is about to begin: the oil on panel, attributed to the workshop of Jan Wyck, frames the scene with a diagonal composition that extends from the foreground on the left—where a page on foot walks alongside the two horsemen— she on a white steed with a blue feather on her headdress, he on a bay, holding a falcon in his right hand. Here, the hounds—including a red-and-white hound in the foreground—and other horsemen are making their final preparations, while the viewer’s gaze drifts toward a lake and distant hills. High above, among the foliage, ancient-looking ruins emerge, similar to those in *The Cavalry Battle*—now in a private collection—which lend the landscape a classical and melancholic air.

Jan Wyck, born in Haarlem in 1645, was the son and pupil of the painter Thomas Wyck, with whom he made his first trip to England in 1660. He married for the second time in 1676 and remained there until his death in 1702. As early as 1686, thanks to the support of the Duke of Ormond, he was considered the best landscape painter in London, and he later also gained the patronage of the Duke of Monmouth. He gained public fame when he accompanied Dirk Maas to Ireland to depict the military campaigns of William III, who appreciated his work so much that he had himself portrayed several times, often on horseback. His more than 150 known works are notable for their vivid colors and attention to detail; he also illustrated a volume dedicated to hunting and falconry.

This painting should be viewed within the artistic context of England at the turn of the 17th and 18th centuries. Until then, battle painting had been dominated by French artists, but the arrival, beginning in 1660, of Dutch and Flemish artists such as Wyck, Maas, and William van de Velde turned it into a flourishing genre across the Channel as well. Wyck was the most versatile master of the genre and, through his teaching, left a legacy that passed to John Wootton, who was destined to become the great exponent of 18th-century English sports painting. In this context, Wyck’s workshop catered to the demands of an aristocracy that took pride in the rituals of the hunt, skillfully replicating the master’s signature style: elegant horseback rides, deep horizons, and backdrops of trees and ruins in the Italianate style. Rather than the frenzied pursuit so dear to the master, the painting emphasizes the suspended moment preceding the drive, with a refined tone that was well-suited to the courtly taste of the turn of the century. Finally, the elongated format suggests a work intended to decorate a stately home, where hunting was both a pastime and a symbol of status.