Peter von Bemmel (1685 - 1754) Stag hunting in the vicinity of Nuremberg

14 x 20.7 cm (27 x 34 cm framed)

This small landscape shows a hunting scene: two riders are chasing a stag with their dogs at the edge of a forest. Signed by Peter von Bemmel, it is typical of the production of this artist, in the great tradition of Dutch landscapes.

1. Peter von Bemmel, a landscape painter in the Dutch tradition

Peter von Bemmel was born in Nuremberg in 1685 into an artistic family. His father, the Dutch-born painter Willem van Bemmel (1630 - 1708), was born in Utrecht and trained in the studio of Herman Saftleven the Younger (1609 - 1685). After a ten-year sojourn in Italy, he settled in Nuremberg in 1662 and specialised in Italian-style landscapes. Peter's elder brother Johan Georg von Bemmel was also a painter, as were his two sons Christoph and Johann Christoph.

Peter von Bemmel was a landscape painter and engraver. His work, which is still very much influenced by his father's productions, is well represented in the Herzog Anton Ulrich Museum in Braunschweig and in the museums of his home town, Nuremberg.

2. Description of the artwork

Two riders and their dogs are chasing a stag in a wooded landscape, on the banks of a river that can be seen in the foreground. While the rider on the left, wearing a red jacket, is perfectly legible, as the paint has become transparent over time, the three dogs, the rider on the right and the stag blend into the brown tones of the undergrowth in which this hunt is taking place.

A village, lit in beautiful golden late afternoon light, can be seen in the blueish background whose clarity contrasts with the dark masses formed by the trees in the foreground.

The Municipal Museums of Nuremberg house a related work depicting a hunt in ponds near the city of Nuremberg whose silhouette appears in the background of the composition. This painting has a number of characteristic features that can be found in our artwork: the dark treatment of the forest, which is only illuminated by a few light spots along the trees, the central presence of water, and a bluish urban landscape in the background.

The afore mentioned composition is dated between 1730-1750. We would like to propose an earlier date for our painting (ca. 1720-1730) because it seems to us that the influence of Willem van Bemmel, the artist's father, is more noticeable in this composition.

We have chosen to present this painting in a marvellous Italian frame from the early 18th century. The brightness of the carved and gilded wood enhances the rather dark tones of the woods.



Main bibliographic source :
Wolf Eiermann - Willem van Bemmel (1630 - 1708) - Petersberg 2007