Art Institute of Chicago

The Lion Hunt

Schelte Adamsz. Bolswert (Dutch, active in Flanders, c. 1586–1659)

Date

1621/29

Medium

Engraving in black on cream laid paper, tipped onto cream laid paper

Culture

Flanders

Department

Prints and Drawings

Institution

Art Institute of Chicago

Peter Paul Rubens was very particular about the prints made after his paintings, though he embraced the increased fame that they afforded him. Schelte Bolswert’s engraving of The Lion Hunt ably captures the roiling energy of Rubens’s painting. The older artist proudly discussed this painting in a 1621 letter: “I have almost finished a large picture, entirely by my hand, and in my opinion one of my best, representing a Lion Hunt, with the figures life-sized.” Given the printing process’s usual reversing effect, Rubens may have specifically requested that this engraving appear in the same direction as the painting.

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