(The Hague 1629–1676) An elegant hunting party turning into a farmyard, signed illegibly lower right, oil on canvas, 80 x 119 cm, framed

Trained in the workshop of Paulus Potter, Le Ducq combined anatomically precise representations of animals, particularly hunting dogs, in his work with the altogether more elegant milieu common in the second half of the 17th century in the Netherlands. Thus he followed the great tradition of Dutch animal painters, among the most successful exponents of which his teacher, Paulus Potter numbered, but he was also able to cater to the more sophisticated taste of his clientele. In this painting he depicts a group of young dandies sporting the latest fashion who stop off at a tavern during their hunting party. Also characteristic of his work is the stage-like setting of his composition and the finely observed details, primarily in the clothes, the dogs and the hunting weapons, all of which made him a very popular and successful artist, even during his lifetime. After Le Ducq, as Chairman of the Pictura Brotherhood in The Hague, had been awarded all of the honours of his guild, he entered the army and fell, serving as a captain against the French in 1672.