Tickets
English
DonateMembershipTickets

Bear Hunt

ca. 1470–90
Not on view
The dense overlapping of numerous courtly figures and hunters on horseback evokes the dramatic action of the hunt, a popular subject of medieval and Renaissance tapestries. This work is the only known drawing to document the transition from one stage of tapestry design to another. The draftsman’s unusual alterations to the sheet provide fascinating insight into his working process. The artist cut out sixteen areas, pasting pieces of paper behind the holes, so as to redraw a new version. It is possible that he initially copied a tapestry cartoon (a full-scale design) and then modified the details, particularly certain heads (which might be portraits), to modernize the older version for a new commission.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Bear Hunt
  • Artist: Flanders (Brussels?) (1470–1490)
  • Date: ca. 1470–90
  • Culture: Flemish
  • Medium: Pen and brown ink
  • Dimensions: 11 1/4 x 16 11/16 in. (28.6 x 42.4 cm)
  • Classification: Drawings
  • Credit Line: Robert Lehman Collection, 1975
  • Object Number: 1975.1.822
  • Curatorial Department: The Robert Lehman Collection

More Artwork

More Artwork
Cosimo II de' Medici (1590–1621), Grand Duke of Tuscany, Justus Sustermans Flemish, Oil on canvas, transferred from wood, Flemish
Cosimo II de' Medici (1590–1621), Grand Duke of Tuscany
Workshop of Justus Sustermans
1597–1681
Written Iran, Siah Armajani Iranian, Marker ink, colored pencil and graphite on Mylar
Written Iran
Siah Armajani
2015–16
Virgin Fainting at the Cross, Oak, South Netherlandish
Virgin Fainting at the Cross
South Netherlandish
early 16th century
Three Virtues (Temperance, Hope, and Fortitude or Justice) and Studies of a Seated Man, Lorenzo Monaco (Piero di Giovanni) Italian, Metalpoint, touches of brush and brown wash, heightened with white (partially oxidized in the figure at the lower left), on reddish violet prepared paper. Some lines retraced in pen and brown ink at a later date., Italian, Florence
Three Virtues (Temperance, Hope, and Fortitude or Justice) and Studies of a Seated Man
Circle of Lorenzo Monaco (Piero di Giovanni)
ca. 1420
The Entombment, School of Antwerp South Netherlandish, Oak, South Netherlandish
The Entombment
School of Antwerp
early 16th century

Related Content

Publications

Books, guides, and catalogues published by The Met.

Research Resources

The Met provides unparalleled resources for research and welcomes an international community of students and scholars. The Met's Open Access API is where creators and researchers can connect to the The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.

To request images under copyright and other restrictions, please use this Image Request form.

Feedback

We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please contact us using the form below. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.

Send feedback

Content Notice

The Metropolitan Museum of Art presents over 5,000 years of art from around the world, and our online collection reflects ongoing work conducted over the course of our more than 150-year history. You may encounter objects or images that may be inappropriate for some viewers or information that may be outdated.