A merry company out hunting

The present painting is a clever comment on morality, disguised as a colourful hunting scene. The background to the courtly romping can be identfied as the Massif de la Sainte-Baume in the South of France. According to Provencal legend, Mary Magdalene fled to the area after persectution forced her to leave the Holy Lands. She lived in a cave in the side of the rock, cave in Provencal being 'baumo', where she spent her days in contemplation. The grotto and acompanying chapel remain an important site of pilgrimage to this day. Here the artist has also included a small scene of John the Baptist preaching in the clearing at the foot of the rock. Moving to the foreground, religion is superceded by earthly pleasures. These bright, bejewelled figures, previously thought to be the retenue of Charles V, pay no heed to the religious importance of their surroundings, instead they sport gaily with falcons and hounds. The artist comments subtly on the morality of the shift away from the life of contemplation by showing the trees in the foreground devoid of leaves, and the ground brown in comparison to the lush greens and leafy trees seen beyond. An almost identical composition, attributed to Jan Vermeyen, is in the Museum of Fine Art, Budapest.