Hunting scene

Oil on parqueted panel

Signed lower left

Dimensions: 16 x 22   cm

With frame: 34 x 40 cm   

This scene of brushed hunting with hounds, of an alert quality, is characteristic of the work of René Princeteau, known for the agility of his touch which expresses so well the movement and the sensation of speed and lightness of the horse and its rider. .

Coming from a family of wealthy notables owning castles and vineyards, René Princeteau was deaf from birth. He studied at the Institut des jeunes dead in Paris. After taking sculpture lessons in Bordeaux, he studied in 1865 at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris, under the direction of Auguste Dumont.

Friend of Alphonse de Toulouse-Lautrec, he became his first teacher in 1871. Let us cite the exhibition catalog for the Toulouse-Lautrec exhibition of 2019-2020, “Raised in a family where one indulges in riding and hunting, Toulouse-Lautrec draws horses from childhood. We know his master René Princeteau was very interested in Muybridge's photographs breaking down the gallop of a horse and we can therefore imagine that his pupil looked at them passionately. This ability to capture movement and speed finds another expression when installed in Montmartre, Lautrec is caught up in the whirlwind of nightlife, whose feverish dances he chooses to express. "

René Princeteau exhibited at the Salon des Artistes Français from 1868 busts and genre paintings. He rose to prominence with his paintings of horses at the 1885 Salon.

He produced numerous hunting and racing paintings, as well as landscapes and equestrian portraits. In 1883, Princeteau left Paris for the Libournais where he was originally from. This period marks the beginning of his large compositions celebrating rural life. He settled in the castle of Pontus near Fronsac.

René Princeteau is considered one of the masters of hunting and horse painting.