Halt of Sportsmen

Philips Wouwerman was one of the most versatile and prolific artists of the Dutch Golden Age, specialising in hunting, landscape and battle scenes. Although he died at 48 years of age, more than 1,000 paintings are attributed to him and his workshop. Despite having never visited Italy, Wouwerman’s work has a certain silvery picturesque quality that appealed to an aristocratic market, particularly in France in the 18th century. Wouwerman was at the peak of his collectability when the Gallery founders were putting together their collection, with a newspaper report from 1791 describing a dedicated ‘Wouwerman’s Room’ in their house in Charlotte Street, London.