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The Hare Hunters

A work made of etching in black on ivory laid paper.
CC0 Public Domain Designation

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  • A work made of etching in black on ivory laid paper.

Date:

1566

Artist:

Pieter Bruegel, the elder
Flemish, 1525/30-1569

About this artwork

This etching might represent two related proverbs popularized by the philosopher/writer Erasmus in the mid-1500s: “He who chases two hares catches neither” and “A hare yourself, you hunt for prey.” In compositional terms, the proverb served Pieter Bruegel the Elder as more of a pretext for the sweeping landscape scene that occupies most of the printed field.

Bruegel’s inf luence on the early development of the landscape genre cannot be overestimated. He created important landscape drawings, but his impact spread even more forcefully through the medium of printmaking. This is the only etching he is believed to have executed himself.

Status

Currently Off View

Department

Prints and Drawings

Artist

Pieter Bruegel, the elder

Title

The Hare Hunters

Place

Netherlands (Artist's nationality:)

Date  Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

1566

Medium

Etching in black on ivory laid paper

Dimensions

Image: 21.5 × 29.2 cm (8 1/2 × 11 1/2 in.); Sheet: 24.6 × 31.8 cm (9 11/16 × 12 9/16 in.)

Credit Line

Clarence Buckingham Collection

Reference Number

1966.183

IIIF Manifest  The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

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https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/25374/manifest.json

Extended information about this artwork

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

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