Where Is Hunting on the Lagoon? See It at Getty Center

Q: Where can I see Hunting on the Lagoon?

This painting is displayed at the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles. Its companion piece, "Two Venetian Ladies," is at the Correr Museum in Venice.

Q: Why did hunters use clay pellets?

Hunters used clay pellets instead of arrows to stun cormorants without piercing their skin. The undamaged plumage was valuable, so this method preserved the birds' commercial worth.

Q: What is painted on the back of this panel?

The reverse shows a trompe-l'oeil letter rack, considered the earliest small-scale illusionistic painting since antiquity. The panel's hinges suggest it may have been a cabinet door or window shutter.

Q: Who was Vittore Carpaccio?

Vittore Carpaccio was a leading Venetian painter of the late 15th century, considered second only to Giovanni Bellini among his contemporaries. He's known for narrative paintings of Venetian life.

Vittore Carpaccio completed this scene of Venetian bird hunting between 1490 and 1495. Seven shallow-bottomed boats float across a glassy lagoon, their crews hunting cormorants with an unusual method. Archers use clay pellets rather than arrows to stun the birds without damaging their valuable plumage. A pellet caught mid-flight reveals the moment of action.

This panel has a notable history. Recent examination proved it was once part of a larger work, now split between two museums. "Hunting on the Lagoon" connected to "Two Venetian Ladies," currently at the Correr Museum in Venice. The wood grain matches perfectly, and an empty flower stem in the Venice panel aligns with a blossom in the Getty's piece. The hinges on the Getty panel suggest it once served as a decorative shutter or cabinet door.

The reverse features a trompe-l'oeil letter rack, likely the earliest small-scale example since antiquity. This Renaissance treasure resides at the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles, where visitors can examine both sides of this double-sided masterwork.

This painting is displayed at the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles. Its companion piece, "Two Venetian Ladies," is at the Correr Museum in Venice.

Hunters used clay pellets instead of arrows to stun cormorants without piercing their skin. The undamaged plumage was valuable, so this method preserved the birds' commercial worth.

The reverse shows a trompe-l'oeil letter rack, considered the earliest small-scale illusionistic painting since antiquity. The panel's hinges suggest it may have been a cabinet door or window shutter.

Vittore Carpaccio was a leading Venetian painter of the late 15th century, considered second only to Giovanni Bellini among his contemporaries. He's known for narrative paintings of Venetian life.

Hunting on the Lagoon

Where to See It

The Artist

More by Vittore Carpaccio

Portrait of a lady

Dream of St.Ursula

The Arrival of the English Ambassadors

Portrait of an Unknown Man with Red Beret

Also at Getty Center

Dream of Pope Sergius

Before the Seduction and After

The Beggars' Brawl

Charles De Saint Albin, Archbishop of Cambrai

About Hunting on the Lagoon

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