The Hunt in the Forest

This masterpiece, by Paolo, reveals the natural world through a brilliantly structured composition and a nocturnal landscape. The original buyer of this painting is unknown, but it was intended for some luxurious domestic setting.

The art was possibly created to stay in either Urbino where Paolo worked for some time from 1465, or be in Florence about 1470. The Hunt in the Forest is an early sample of the practical use of perspective in the famous Renaissance art. The painting illustrates participants in the hunt, including people, dogs, deer and horses vanishing into the dark forest that is shown in the distance.

Hunting was an aristocratic hobby with rituals of its kind. The crescent moon, a symbol of Diana, the virgin goddess of the hunt, take shape in the horses' trappings. The idea of hunting by night is symbolic or playful rather than realistic. Paolo mapped out a framework on the surface of the panel, fixing a central disappearing point. The mechanisms of the huntsmen's spears, the logs and cut branches, as well as the area of water, signify this coherent space. The space is inhabited by the fading forms of animals and men; the viewer`s gaze is drawn deeper into the forest.

The size and shape of this piece clearly show that it`s a spalliera painting. This technique involves decorating a backboard displayed as a headboard to a bed or placed on a wall, usually behind a wooden chest that's used for storage (cassone). The piece is normally made out of wood and embroidered with decorative features such as detailed painting or carving. The painting on this piece was done using oil. Spalliera is also usually gilded. However, in this painting, gilding is not used. It would have been a good complement to the bright colours if some golden flecks were smudged in the tree`s foliage. The Hunt in the Forest was Paolo's last known painting before he died in 1475. The piece is currently housed in the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, England.