A portrait of a young nobleman at the edge of a forest in hunting attire, with his Russian Setter. The background possibly depicts a town near Moscow, as the artist moved there in the year he painted this piece. 

Ludwig Guttenbrunn (1750-1819) was an Austrian portrait painter who worked in Italy and Russia for most of his life. He studied in Vienna and Rome and gained recognition as a master of intimate portraits and copies of old masters. In 1789, he moved to London. Shortly after arriving there, or perhaps while en route, he painted the portrait of Queen Marie Antoinette. In London, Guttenbrunn was successful and exhibited regularly. 

From the late 1780s, he maintained close contacts with the Russian nobility, particularly Count Semyon Vorontsov and Prince Nikolai Yusupov. In 1795, on the recommendation of the Russian ambassador in London, he moved to St. Petersburg. In St. Petersburg, he painted members of the imperial family, and in 1799, he moved to Moscow, where influential families such as the Vorontsovs, Yusupovs, Razumovskys, Kurakins, Naryshkins, and others were among his patrons. 

The painting is housed in a contemporary gilt-bronze frame of outstanding quality. Such a frame is very rare and must have been extremely valuable at the time. Since the painting and frame belong together, this also tells us something about the commissioner of the portrait, who must have been very wealthy.