A Medici Hunting Party

Grand Duke Cosimo III de" Medici leads a hunting party through a wooded landscape in this 1706 painting at the Wadsworth Atheneum in Hartford. Magnasco worked in Florence for a period around 1703-1711, producing paintings for the Medici court, and this hunting scene may date from that Florentine sojourn. The last Medici grand dukes were enthusiastic collectors and patrons, and Magnasco"s dramatic, unconventional style evidently appealed to their taste.

The hunting party charges through dense woodland, with riders and dogs creating dynamic diagonals against the vertical trees. Magnasco"s palette is warmer than his hermit scenes, with the rich colors of hunting costumes and horse trappings providing bright accents. The brushwork maintains its characteristic speed and energy, building the forest from rapid, overlapping strokes that create a convincing sense of dense vegetation and dappled light.