Jan Weenix, Dutch, 1642?-1719
Still Life with Hunting Trophies, 1680s-1690s
oil on canvas, 47 15/16 x 62 3/8 in. (121.8 x 158.4 cm)
Ackland Art Museum, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Ackland Fund
Still Life With Hunting Trophies was part of a hunting series Weenix painted for the castle of Bensberg. Weenix was commissioned to paint 12 of these massive canvases featuring hunting scenes and still lifes. In this piece, the depiction of deceased game is a literal representation of the struggle for life but as the title indicates, these animals were used for trophies instead of sustenance. As trophies, both the painting and the exotic and large animals are symbolic commodities, representing the struggle for social status and prestige.
~Carrie Whitsett
An extended look at Jan Weenix’s Still Life with Hunting Trophies by Carrie Whitsett