Offered by Galerie Meier
REQUEST INFORMATION
Oil on canvas
Size: 82 x 67 cm
Antique Regency gilded frame
Our painting presents a hunting woman from the nobility, elegantly dressed, with a playful and mischievous look on her face.
She is holding a gunpowder rifle in her right hand and showing off her hunting trophy in her left hand.
In the background we can see a game cage with a pyramid of small game birds in front of it. A powder flask completes the scene.
Only an artist in the vein of Crespi could paint figures from which emerges a kind of natural authority, also marked by majesty.
The use of chiaroscuro, reminiscent of a subtly digested Caravaggio, allows Crespi to express the dramatic aspect of this painting. The white light, which illuminates the theatrical face of the character, contrasting with the almost uniform black background, gives the work its tragic character. The twisting of the neck and the bird kneaded in his hand accentuate the scenic impression of the composition.
But Crespi appears in all his ambiguity, for tragedy sometimes results in a certain form of caricature.
The subject matter is in keeping with the times and is particularly suited to Crespi's truculent and restless genius.
According to Zanotti, Crespi's first biographer in 1739, the painter only lit the figures, leaving the background in total darkness, which makes them stand out to the point where they seem to emerge from the painting.
We know of a sanguine that was sold at Sotheby's in 1989 (sold for £52,000) that depicts the same theme (see photo), namely a young female hunter and her attributes.
The painting representing the woman with the cat (see photo 2) reminds us of our painting, we also find a small detail, these small white flowers scattered in the hair of the character.
