The piece depicts hunting dogs attempting to wrestle down a stag. They bite into the neck and hind legs of the defenceless animal as another stag hurls one of the hunting dogs into the air, and a third tries to escape the pack by a courageous leap. Carl Borromeo Ruthart shows the heroic struggle of the stags against the pack of unleashed hunting dogs. The animals are the protagonists of this composition, the mounted hunter is only seen in the distance as a secondary figure. 

Note: Carl Borromeo Andreas Ruthart was one of the many German artists of the 17th century who left their homeland, which was starving after the Thirty Years' War, to learn painting in other artistic centres throughout Europe and seek prestigious employment in the princely courts. Thus we find him in Rome, Venice, Antwerp, Vienna and Graz, spending the latter years of his artistic life in L'Aquila in southern Italy - as Frate Andrea in a monastery. In Antwerp, he came into contact with the naturalistic animal painting of the Flemish masters, especially that of Frans Snyders. He was a self-taught artist who succeeded in becoming one of the most sought-after animal painters of his time. Ruthart prepared his paintings by making sketches of individual animals, which are sometimes of extraordinary quality. For example, Dr. Fred Meijer, who confirmed the attribution to Ruthart (written communication, 7.4.2021), refers to a preparatory drawing for the depiction of the fleeing stag that was once offered at auction in England (Christie's, 31 May 1993, lot 311). 

Kunsthaus Lempertz KG. From Antiquity to Art Nouveau - The Bernard De Leye Collection, Köln, 15 July 2021