Hunting still life with wildfowl, a hare and a falcon

Dated around 1650, this hunting still life with wildfowl, hare, and falcon represents the core category of Boel's specialisation — the post-hunt assembly of quarry with hunting equipment and animals. The falcon adds a dimension absent from most Flemish hunt still lifes: falconry was a specifically aristocratic pursuit, more exclusive than simple shooting or coursing, and including a falcon elevated the social pretension of the composition. Boel's access to live raptors for study likely came through his connections with Antwerp and later Parisian aristocratic households where falconry was actively practised. The combination of dead game and a living falcon — if rendered in active pose — creates the dramatic juxtaposition of the hunt's lethal efficiency personified in the predator alongside its results.

Falcon feather rendering demands the most precise brushwork in Boel's repertoire: the intricate barred pattern of falcon plumage, each feather's shaft and vane structure, and the contrast between wing coverts and flight feathers all require differentiated treatment. Dead wildfowl and hare provide contrasting textures — ruffled feathers and dense fur — against which the falcon's living plumage stands in pointed contrast.