The Hunts of Maximilian: July, the Report near the Rouge-Cloître
Bernard van Orley (cartoons), Dermoyen workshop (weaving) (c. 1488-1541) · c. 1531
Hunters on foot gather in the foreground, two talking together, two addressing riders, all apparently asking a question. In a stag hunt this is the report, the preliminary moment when the trackers tell the mounted party which animals they have found the traces of. The rider at the left to whom they speak was long taken for Mary of Hungary, sister of Charles the Fifth, because of the way the figure sits astride like a man, a habit that earned her the nickname the male huntress; today the figure is more often seen as her brother Ferdinand. Behind stretch the ponds and buildings of the priory of the Rouge-Cloître, where monks stroll along the first pond. The lion of Leo sits in the top medallion.
The tapestry is one of the twelve Hunts of Maximilian, woven in Brussels around fifteen thirty-one after cartoons by Bernard van Orley in wool, silk and silver and gilt thread. Each piece shows a real place in the forest of Soignes, so the set is a topographical record as well as a hunting calendar. It came to the museum from the royal collections in seventeen ninety-seven.
Did You Know? The rider sitting astride was long identified as Mary of Hungary, nicknamed the male huntress for refusing to ride side-saddle.
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