
The Lion Hunt
<p>Peter Paul Rubens was very particular about the prints made after his paintings, though he embraced the increased fame that they afforded him. Schelte Bolswert’s engraving of <em>The Lion Hunt</em> ably captures the roiling energy of Rubens’s painting. The older artist proudly discussed this painting in a 1621 letter: “I have almost finished a large picture, entirely by my hand, and in my opinion one of my best, representing a Lion Hunt, with the figures life-sized.” Given the printing process’s usual reversing effect, Rubens may have specifically requested that this engraving appear in the same direction as the painting.</p>
Catalogue
- Year
- 1616
- Dimensions
- Image: 40.9 × 58.6 cm (16 1/8 × 23 1/8 in.); Primary support, trimmed within platemark: 42.5 × 59 cm (16 3/4 × 23 1/4 in.); Secondary support: 49.6 × 68 cm (19 9/16 × 26 13/16 in.)
- Collection
- Art Institute of Chicago
- Artist
- Schelte Adamsz. Bolswert
Artist

Printmaking
Schelte Adamsz. Bolswert (Dutch, active in Flanders, c. 1586–1659)
Full artist profile →More
More by Schelte Adamsz. Bolswert
Landscape with Sheep, from The Small Landscapes
1638 · Engraving on ivory laid paper
Landscape with Philemon and Baucis, from Large Landscapes
1638 · Engraving in black on cream laid paper
Landscape with the Great Ruins, from The Small Landscapes
1633 · Engraving on ivory laid paper
Forest Crossed by a Stream, from The Small Landscapes
1633 · Engraving on cream laid paper
The Resurrection of Christ
1630 · Engraving in black on ivory laid paper
Sebastiaan Vrancx
1630 · Engraving in black on ivory laid paper
Record
Verified by WattsOS- Artist
- Schelte Adamsz. Bolswert
- Year
- 1616
- Dimensions
- Image: 40.9 × 58.6 cm (16 1/8 × 23 1/8 in.); Primary support, trimmed within platemark: 42.5 × 59 cm (16 3/4 × 23 1/4 in.); Secondary support: 49.6 × 68 cm (19 9/16 × 26 13/16 in.)
- Watts ID
- WW-1616-133421
Source
- Collection
- Art Institute of Chicago
- Source
- aic
- Reference
- View at source
- Status
- verified





