Carl Wilhelm Kolbe is best known for his etchings of lush, idealized landscapes and mythical scenes. Here, classicized nude figures on horseback hunt a stag. A huntress aims a spear at the animal, who looks at her with wide, startled eyes, as the entire scene appears eerily frozen in time. Kolbe was self-taught as an etcher and excelled at highly detailed representations of the natural world, as shown here by the variety of plants and trees depicted, including the gnarled tree trunk at the left. In addition, the dappled interplay of light and shadow across the scene adds visual interest to the composition. Many of Kolbe's etchings were issued in bound sets and became popular with collectors in Germany in the early-nineteenth century.