Courbet, Gustave (1819-1877)
Renard dans la neige (Fox in the Snow)
1860
Oil on canvas, 85.73 x 127.95 cm
Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas
Courbet’s Fox in the Snow depicts the animal mauling its prey, the rodent’s blood spilling onto the blanket of snow. The image’s brutality is intensified by the brilliance and directness of Courbet’s style. The artist deftly wielded brush and palette knife to differentiate the softness of the animal’s fur from the crispness of the frozen ground. This painting is a quintessential example of Courbet’s Realism; he refused to depict traditional mythological or historical subjects, favoring instead ordinary subjects drawn from everyday life. (DMA)