Anónimo – Cacería de liebres. San Baudelio de Casillas de Berlanga Part 5 Prado Museum

The mural presents a hunting scene rendered in a stylized and somewhat flattened perspective. A rider on horseback dominates the central composition; he appears to be guiding or directing the action unfolding around him. The horse itself is depicted with simplified forms, its musculature suggested rather than realistically portrayed. The rider’s posture, arm extended forward, implies an active role in the pursuit.
Surrounding the mounted figure are several depictions of hares and hounds engaged in a chase. The hares leap dynamically across the foreground, their bodies captured mid-flight with an emphasis on angularity. The hounds mirror this energetic movement, leaping towards the prey with similar stylized poses. The artist has employed a limited palette – primarily earth tones of brown and ochre – which contributes to the overall sense of antiquity and reinforces the scene’s connection to the natural world.
Flanking the central action are skeletal trees, their branches rendered as thin, white lines against the reddish-brown background. These trees serve not only as a backdrop but also create a visual frame for the hunt, emphasizing its contained nature within a specific environment. The starkness of the tree forms contrasts with the more fluid shapes of the animals and rider.
The subtexts embedded in this work seem to revolve around themes of control, abundance, and perhaps even ritualistic significance. The hunter’s position atop his horse suggests dominion over both the animal world and those who might be depicted as participating in the hunt alongside him. The repeated depiction of leaping hares and hounds could symbolize fertility or a cyclical pattern of life and death. Given the formal qualities – the simplified figures, the limited color range, and the flattened perspective – it is likely that this mural served a didactic purpose, conveying social values or narratives to an audience accustomed to symbolic representation rather than realistic depictions. The scene’s apparent lack of individual detail suggests a focus on the broader narrative and its underlying meaning, rather than on portraying specific individuals or events.