Heron Hawking below Stirling Castle
Jan Wyck
ca. 1690
Jan Wyck, a Dutch painter working in England, was famous for his battle and hunting scenes. In Wyck’s time, heron hawking was already an ancient aristocratic ritual, verging on the symbolic: a noble and brave bird of prey was set upon the heron, a waterfowl traditionally associated with cowardliness. Here, in the foreground, a huntsman carries a hawk on his arm toward the hunting party, which includes a gentleman and lady on horseback, and their hounds, which gaze anxiously up at the sky where the battle is waged. The heron, flying upwards, is about to be met by the descent of the soaring hawk.
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven · Image: Yale Center for British Art, Public domain · Text: Yale Center for British Art, CC0