Typical of Jan Hackaert's work are wooded landscapes with soft dusky skies, arranged trees, blue tinged mountains in the distance, and bucolic figures with sheep or cattle. Hackaert also painted forest landscapes with hunting scenes, and they have been popular because they reflected the prosperity and affluent leisure pursuits, real or coveted, of their prospective buyers.

Hackaert was a Dutch painter, draughtsman and etcher who specialized particularly in Italianate landscapes and woodland scenes. Influenced greatly by the respective styles of Dutch Italiante artists such as Jan Both (c.1610-1652) and Jan Asselijn (c.1615-1652), Hackaert's exceptional treatment of colour owes much to these two predecessors.

Betw...