A Lady and Gentleman Hawking

The drawing depicts a luscious spring landscape where, in the center foreground, a man and woman on horseback travel along a road, accompanied by several figures on foot and two dogs. Branches of a pollarded willow and lush foliage from larger trees behind it partially obscure the inn along the side of the road. In the left background, a church with its tall steeple balances the grand trees at right. The male rider and one of his footmen hold raptors on their arms, indicating that the party is hawking. The elegant dress of the man and woman suggests their elevated status, as does their activity, as falconry was an activity traditionally associated with the upper classes.
Esaias van de Velde made this drawing as part of series of finished drawings representing the Twelve Months to be sold together as a set. Hawking was associated with the month of May or June. The depiction of the months derives from a medieval tradition that is generally found in illuminated manuscripts. The cyclical portrayal of the seasons was popularized in Netherlandish prints after designs by Pieter Bruegel (1525-1569) in 1565 and pathed the way for later 17th-century Dutch artists specialize in the autonomous landscape as a genre.