Rabbit Hunt

On a hill overlooking a river, a hunter takes aim at two rabbits as his dog looks on and another hunter appears to stalk him with a spear. The subject may illustrate a proverb: ‘He who pursues two rabbits at once, will lose both’.

Bruegel designed numerous engravings for other artists to execute, but this rare etching is the only print he executed himself. The freedom afforded by the etching technique allowed him to render the scene with remarkable naturalism and to vividly evoke light and atmosphere.