Johann Heinrich Roos Reipoltskirchen 1631 - 1685 Frankfurt am Main

Hofrat Ritterich Collection, Leipzig,
His Sale, Leipzig 1860;
C.F. Förster’sche;
Schloss Schillersdorf;
Harrods Ltd, London;
Private collection, Europe.

G. Parthey, Deutscher Bildersaal. Verzeichnis der in Deutschland vorhandenen Ölbilder verstorbener Maler aller Schulen (German Picture Gallery. Catalogue of the Oil Paintings in Existence in Germany, by the Dead Masters of all Schools of Painting), vol. II, Berlin 1864, p.385, no.11;
H. Jedding, Der Tiermaler Johann Heinrich Roos (1631-1685).  Studien zur deutschen Kunstgeschichte (The Animal Painter Johann Heinrich Roos (1631-1685). German Art Historical Studies), vol. 311, Strasbourg-Kehl 1955, p.219, no.64.

Around 1670, when this painting was produced, Roos stood at the pinnacle of his career as an artist, having won both renown and wealth in Frankfurt, where he had settled in 1667.  The painting was first recorded by G Parthey in 1864: ‘A traveller in a rocky landscape, perhaps the painter himself, discharges a pistol into the air.  Signed : JHRoos fc. 1670. Canvas; 49.6 x 44.2cm’ (Deutscher Bildersaal. Verzeichnis der in Deutschland vorhandenen Ölbilder verstorbener Maler aller Schulen (German Picture Gallery. Catalogue of the Oil Paintings in Existence in Germany, by the Dead Masters of all Schools of Painting), vol. II, Berlin 1864, p.385, no.11). A comparison with self portraits of Johann Heinrich Roos disproves Parthey’s notion that the huntsman firing a pistol is a self-portrait of the artist. The huntsman is probably firing into the air to signify his exact whereabouts to other members of the hunting party.  According to Parthey, the painting was in the collection of Hofrat Ritterich in Leipzig, which was auctioned in 1860.