The kill of deer (Courbet)

The kill of deer (L'Hallali au cerf in french), is a very large picture (355 to 505 cm), representing a hunting scene. It is painted in 1867 by Gustave Courbet. The table is stored in the Museum of Fine Arts of Besançon.

History

The painting was done during the winter of 1866-1867. It is the latest large format Courbet, which it was very special, particularly throughA Burial at OrnansandThe Artist's Studio . The work was exhibited at the French art salons and academies of 1869. The table scandal, major formats being reserved for the Noble Painting, the history painting, rather than a hunting scene.

Iconography

The scene shows a deer attacked by a pack of hunting dogs. He collapsed on the snowy ground. Two characters are on the right. The drill is Cusenier Jules, a resident of Ornans while the man on horseback is Felix Gaudy, of Vuillafans^[1]. 'L'Hallali' is in the tradition of representation of the scene hunt, from  . Courbet uses a harsh realistic representations of the Flemish closer. Hunting scenes are common in the paintings of Courbet, every step of the latter are represented

There is another influence in this painting, that ofThe Massacre at Chios(1824) by Eugène Delacroix (table at right). His influence is reflected particularly through the character-horse^[2].

References

1. ^ Pinette, Matthieu and Soulier-François, Françoise, From Belini to Bonnard : Great Masterpieces, Besançon, 1992, pp. 184-185.
2. ^ Robinson, Margaret, Courbet's Hunt Scenes. The End of a Tradition, Providence, Rhode Island, 1990, pp. 1-24.