Farcaster

c. 1528-1533
September – Scene from a deer hunt (From The Hunts of Maximilian)
Artist: Bernard van Orley

This tapestry depicts an aristocratic party deer hunting. On the left a powerful man leans forward as he restrains a large hound on a leash, his dynamic figure drawing the viewer’s eye toward the center of the lake where a number of deer have been driven, as they are surrounded by a few hunters in the water. Additional leashed dogs and their handlers stand at the edge of the bank, while, to the right, a group of noblemen and ladies on horseback watch the scene. The upper half of the tapestry is given over to landscape, as the lake in the center, bordered by forest on either side, tapers upward to the Groenendael Priory. A medallion in the center of the upper border depicts the astrological sign for September, as this work is one of twelve tapestries.