Art Materials snd Techniques in "The Wolf And Fox Hunt"
“I’m just a simple man standing alone with my old brushes, asking God for inspiration”. This is a quote from Peter Paul Rubens who created the Wolf and Fox Hunt. This work of art conveys a clear emotion through its style of art. First, it uses the elements of art impressively. Next, the materials and techniques used in this art are interesting. Furthermore, the context surrounding the painting is a worthwhile subject to study.
To start off, Rubens uses a variety of elements in his painting. First, the color choices he uses are very interesting. The colors have roughly the same value. An example of this is the man in the green shirt and the lady in red. The colors are different hues, but have similar values. The shirts the men are wearing are all darker shades of their respective colors.
Another interesting thing I observed while looking at this painting was that all the animals have the same color of eyes. The color is a hazel brown. I found this interesting because the shirts on the people are all varied in color, but the animal eyes are all the same. Second, the texture in this painting varies. The people and animals that are not in motion have a smooth texture, conversely the wolves and foxes that are in motion look like they have a rough tense texture. I noticed this especially on their backs because of their muscles tensing.
Third, there is both organic and non-organic shapes. The people and animals have round curves that suggests they are alive. The spears on the other side have straight lines and sharp curves. The metal points on the spears is where you see the most straight and non-organic lines. The instrument the man is playing has curved lines, but it curves at a continuous rate, therefore it seems less organic. To go on, Peter used a specific technique in making this art. One style he heavily depended on was Baroque. It is a highly detailed and ornate style of art in Europe around the 17th century. More qualities of this style is the drama and tension implied. I can clearly see it in the Wolf and Fox Hunt.
The first example where I see this is on the man in green. His clothing has creases, folding, and the shadows all appear where I would assume they would. This goes for every person in the painting. Next, when I look at the animals it shows incredible detail. The wolves backs are tensing with muscle and power. The faces of the wolves convey raw anger and a rage. They show it by their biting teeth and sharp claws they use for fighting. To go on, in the middle of the picture a hound is biting a wolf. Also, a fox is already dead under the far right, and the fighting of the two animals is high in tension. I found myself wondering which one would come out the victor.
Next, the materials he used on his painting were fairly common at the time. He used oil on canvas to paint his artwork. A method of painting in which pigments are bound together, and to the canvas, by a drying oil; the oil, usually linseed, is thinned with solvents such as turpentine and mineral spirits; the pigments should dry in linseed oil to form an acceptably strong paint film. This use of oil has gone on for centuries, and it is still used today by many different types of artists.
Next he uses techniques to further the complexity and vision of the painting. First, I noticed the painting is very balanced. That means that there is equal visual weight on each side. The painting does this by having light and dark sides. The right side has a dark sky and dark clouds, while the left side has white clouds and a bright sky. To go on, the painting shows that there is symmetry. The first sign of this is the wolves are fighting in the middle and not on a side. Also, roughly the same amount of people and animals are on both sides of the painting if you cut it down the middle, but this is after the painting was trimmed.
Next, Rubens showed the different distances of people by a few techniques. The first one is overlapping. It is clear in the picture that the white horse is in front of the man blowing his horn. This is because the horse covers the man, but the man never overlaps the horse. The second reason is atmospheric perspective. The art technique is shown by the different tones in the picture. The tones of color are lighter, and that gives the perspective that some things are farther than others. An example is the hills are lighter in tone then the ground next to the animals. To go on Ruben has other works that relate to this one. First, he made multiple hunting paintings. A few were the Lion Hunt, and The Tiger Hunt. Both the other pictures relate to the Wolf and Fox Hunt for multiple reasons. The main reason is that there is lots of conflict between humans and animals in each painting. In each of the paintings the wild animals are fighting back. To go on, other works by Ruben show how well he detailed and realistic he makes people look. To go on, Rubens painting is actually not the same size as it used to be. Someone cut the top and left. Researchers believe they did this so it would be easier to move and set up.
Overall the Wolf and Fox Hunt shows great emotion and adds to Rubens highly respected work. The painting does that by his mastery of techniques, use of oil painting, and more. He has multiple hunting paintings and this one shows how he can adapt his painting to different animals without a problem(Met Museum). The Wolf and Fox Hunt is remembered as a great and ambitious piece of work that is enjoyed by people to this day.
