Eugène Fromentin

Eugène Fromentin depicted hunting scenes throughout his career using vivid colours and animated brushwork to capture the energy and liveliness of each event. His work titled La Chasse au sanglier painted in 1854 was the first important example of this subject and he would later paint scenes such as Chasse à la gazelle dans le Hodna (1856, Museum of Fine Arts of Nantes) and La chasse au Heron, Algerie (1865, Musée Condé). The present work similarly depicts a hunt and the drama and intensity of the scene is heightened by the charging horses and the fired weapon. The horseman responsible for the shot remains intent and focused despite his horse rearing. The boar is just visible in the lower left corner, desperately trying to make its escape.