Focus on The Hippopotamus and Crocodile Hunt and discuss the History.
Rubens contributed to the long-standing genre of the large hunting scene and his studio produced dozens for aristocratic patrons in the 1610s and 1620s. Maximilian I, Elector of Bavaria, commissioned the Hippopotamus and Crocodile Hunt three others depicting lion, wolf, and boar hunts, in 1615 to decorate Schleißheim Palace, the summer residence of the Wittelsbach princes. Rubens and his studio produced the four large canvases in Antwerp over the years 1615–16. The Wittelsbach collection formed the nucleus of Alte Pinakothek in Munich, the present location of the Hippopotamus and Crocodile Hunt and The Lion Hunt from the same cycle. The cycle of paintings were looted from the palace during the Napoleonic Wars. Only the Hippopotamus and Crocodile Hunt was returned to Munich, at which time it was added to the collection that is now the Alte Pinakothek.
The complexity of the figure grouping, representation of turbulent motion and violent action, high drama, and brilliant palette are hallmarks of Rubens' style. In the notice of January 25, 1847, Eugène Delacroix admired the crocodile as a "masterpiece of execution", remarking, however, that "its action could have been more interesting".
notice wolf Hippopotamus Lion canvas Antwerp lion Napoleonic Wars Eugène Delacroix Crocodile Alte Pinakothek boar Munich hallmark Wittelsbach Schleißheim Palace The Lion Hunt Maximilian I, Elector of Bavaria