028

  • The Hunt of the Hippopotamus and the Crocodile

  • After 1615-16 painting, ca. 1650
  • After Pieter Paul Rubens (Flemish 1577-1640), by Willem Pietersz De Leeuw (Flemish ca.1603-1665)
  • Engraving
  • 45.3 x 63.5 cm., 17-13/16 x 25" image
  • Augustana College Art and Art History Department Purchase, Paul A. Anderson Art History Collection, 1995.10

Essay by Kaitlin Bradley, Class of 2008

Peter Paul Rubens is generally regarded as one of the greatest and most influential artists in history. The intricate Mannerist style of such greats as Raphael Sanzio and Michelangelo Buonarroti was replaced around 1600 by the less symbolic and more realistic pieces of the emotionally charged Baroque era with which Rubens is directly affiliated. Rubens' artistic popularity grew immensely while he produced many religious masterpieces, landscapes and secular hunting scenes including The Hunt of the Hippopotamus and the Crocodile. These highly emotional and intense subjects in nature appealed to his audience who sought empathetic, rather than thoughtful, responses.

This print after Rubens' famous painting The Hunt (1615-16), was engraved a few years after the artist's death, attesting to the continued popularity of the painter and this particular piece. Rubens' The Hunt of the Hippopotamus and the Crocodile captures the spirit of the Baroque era with its fascination for exotic cultures. The observer is taken to the climax of struggle between five men, a crocodile and a hippopotamus, the moment before the prey is stabbed to death by three of the men on horseback. These turbaned and bearded men were considered exotic by their European audience, as were the crocodile, hippopotamus, and location, which included a palm tree in the background. The figures are draped in various fabrics and armed with spears and swords. The foreshortening effect on the hippopotamus and crocodile make them appear to be leaping out of the marshy tropical environment and into the viewers' space. The Hunt captures intellectual and emotional tensions. Viewers are left in suspense, not knowing the fate of the man lying on the ground, perhaps about to be devoured by the lunging crocodile. This active overall composition is characteristic of Rubens' distinctive style, effectively capturing all of the climactic action that occurs throughout the piece.