Still Life of Game with Dogs and Spaniels in a Landscape Setting
Carstian Luyckx (Flemish, 1623 – c.1675) 
Oil on canvas
Circa 1670
Unsigned 
43 ½ x 59 1/8 in.; Frame 52 7/8 x 68 7/8 in. 
We are grateful to Dr. Fred Meijer who has confirmed our attribution in full. 
 
This spectacular picture was painted by the Antwerp animal and still life painter Carstian Luyckx (1623 – c.1675). Though scarcely known to the general public today, this versatile artist was very successful and held in high regard in seventeenth-century Antwerp. The sport of hunting falconry, practiced since ancient times, was a pursuit particularly enjoyed at medieval and renaissance courts. The larger gyrfalcon and peregrine falcons depicted here are beautifully rendered likenesses: Luyckx's prowess is on full display, particularly in the way he balances light and texture to capture the varied intricacies of the colors throughout the canvas. This lively and resplendent scene, combined with the directness of Luyckx’s style, produces a truly spectacular image, which is therefore one of his most attractive works.
 
Carstian Luyckx. also known as the Monogrammist KL, was a Flemish painter and draughtsman was born in Antwerp. From 1639 to March 1642 Luyckx was apprenticed to Philips de Marlier, a Flemish painter and draughtsman who had relocated to Antwerp. During this period, Luyckx had become specialized in still life paintings in all their forms: vases, vanitas, banquets, festoons of flowers, fruit bowls, garland flower still lifes and, pronkstillevens (sumptuous still lifes).  Three years later Luyckx transferred to the studio of Frans Francken III, who worked in other genres besides flower still lifes and could therefore train the young man in a wider range of skills. 
 
Luyckx travelled to Lyon in 1644 at 21 years of age, returning a year later to marry. In 1645 he finally enrolled in the St Luke’s Guild in Antwerp, acquiring the right to work as an independent master. His career immediately soared, attaining the rank of master on 17 July 1645. In 1646, he appears documented as a painter to the King of Spain in a record held in the town of Antwerp. 
 
The formal characteristics Luyckx employed are based on those of Jan Fyt, although on occasions, his works are closer in style to that of Jan Davidsz. de Heem. He additionally worked in collaboration with other artists: for instance, with David Teniers II, exemplified by their work Garland with Chronos (Lazienki Palace in Warsaw), as well as with Nicolaes van Verendael. The style of his floral still lifes demonstrates the influence of Daniel Seghers’s work, as well. He often produced funeral wreaths, the most famous of which was for the painter Victor Wolfveot in 1652. 
 
It is believed that he left Antwerp and worked in France as many of his later works carry French inscriptions. During his residence in France, Luyckx influenced other vanitas painters, including Simon Renard de St. André. It is not clear when and where Luyckx died but his death date is assumed to be in the years of 1677-1678.
 
Pronkstillevens:
A large portion of Luyckx output consists of pronkstillevens (“pronks”), the sumptuous still lifes that were popular in Flanders and the Dutch Republic from the 1640s. Luyckx’ work in this genre was influenced by the artist Jan Davidsz. de Heem who was active in both Antwerp and the Dutch Republic. A representative example in this genre is the Opulent Still-Life with Silver and Gilt Metal Objects, Nautilus Shell, Porcelain, Food and Other Motifs on a Draped Table at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts. This work dates from about 1650 and is painted on copper.
 
Vanitas:
Luyckx was especially known for his vanitas still lifes, a genre of still lifes which are intended as a reflection on the meaninglessness of earthly life and the transient nature of all earthly goods and pursuits. He had followers in France such as Simon Renard de St. André and vanitas works by Luyckx have in the past been attributed to these artists. This is for instance the case with the composition Vanitas Still Life with a Skull, a Violin, a Musical Score, a Pipe and Tobacco, an Hourglass and a Candle on a Draped Table (Sold at Sotheby's on 6 December 2012 in London, lot 201) previously given to St. André. This composition shows a musical score, which contains a single vocal part of a religious Latin choral composition, the text of which specifically relates to death. The inscription on the musical score probably refers to the 16th-century composer Orlande de Lassus.
 
Hunting pieces and animals:
His hunting pieces (game still lifes) were influenced by the Flemish specialists in this genre Frans Snyders and especially Jan Fyt. An example of his hunting pieces is A Hunting Still Life of Partridges with Four Springer Spaniels, a Hawk, a Gamebag and Belt and Other Hunting Gear in a Landscape (Sold at Christie's on 20–21 November 2013 in Amsterdam, lot 168). This work is believed to date to the transitional phase between Luyckx’ Antwerp and French periods in the 1650s.

Luyckx painted compositions with life animals. A good example of this is the Fowl Attacked by a Fox (The Kremer Collection). This composition gives a lively rendering of a fox catching a chicken amidst a group of fowl. The artist has aptly observed the startled reaction of the rooster nearest to the fox. The other fowl appear unaware of the danger that they are in. The chicken that is being grabbed stares at the viewer more in surprise than in fear.
 
Other works featuring poultry have been attributed to Luyckx, but these generally focus on fowl that have been shot in a landscape, frequently guarded by a hunting-dog. Luyckx also often included dogs and cats in his numerous still lifes with fruit and the spoils of hunting, something he had in common with Fyt and Snijders. Yet for all the presence of live animals, these images are relatively static in contrast to the drama and dynamism of our Falcons and Spaniels Guarding the Spoils of the Hunt 
 
Falconry in the 17th century:
Basis for the noble sport of hunting was the following adage: “fur against fur, plumes against plumes”. This meant that dogs would hunt for running animals such as deer, boars and hares, while birds would catch birds. In Flanders the Spanish Habsburg archdukes Albert and Isabella prohibited in a decree of 1613 the use of guns, nets and other mechanical devises to support this vision of the hunt. But a simple decree could of course not stop the popularity of firearms, not even at their own court. 
 
There were two types of falconry for hunting wildfowl; in the spectacular so-called high flight falcons dive onto their prey, in particular herons; in the so-called low flight hawks and sparrow hawks use a horizontal attacking technique.
 
Arendonk in Flanders and Valkenswaard in Holland were the main centers of falconry. 

Peregrines were caught locally though the white gyrfalcons came from as far as Scandinavia and Iceland; they could cost more than a noble racehorse. Both species were trained for hunting. 
The hunting season ran from June 24th until November 11th. 
 
The text of Dr. Fred Meijer (08/04/2025):
 “I fully agree with your attribution of this work to Carstian Luyckx, as a late work, (well) after circa 1660. I already attributed it to him in 2002.