Lot Essay
As a prominent member of the Realist movement, Théodule Ribot was inspired by the expanding range of contemporary themes that were also being explored by the painters François Bonvin, Antoine Vollon and especially Gustave Courbet. Ribot and his colleagues achieved prominent stature from the time of the Second Empire; a number of Ribot's canvases were secured by the State as the artist found a willing audience eager for his still-life compositions and wide variety of genre paintings. He forged a personal style that was both easily recognizable and remarkably profound by imbuing commonplace themes with visual sources derived from the seventeenth-century art of Spain, Holland, and France. During his lifetime, Ribot was regarded by art critics as a reincarnation of the Spanish painter Ribera-- this association with the old masters gave him immediate recognition and the notoriety that came with it.
By the 1860s, Ribot was beginning to respond artistically to the growing interest in images of rural life and the complexities of urban existence. Throughout this period, he focused on reworking familiar figures and traditions from the past while striving to enhance their relevance for the contemporary viewer. One recurring theme is that of the hunter. While other painters incorporated the image of the hunter as part of a larger view of the rural environment, in Ribot's work this figure often dominates the entire scene. Whether he saw the hunter as a symbol of independence or as a poacher stalking his prey is immaterial--his use of this rustic type represented a move towards the new artistic motifs that were being embraced by the progessive Realists. Significantly, Ribot seized this particular theme at a time when other painters were hesitant to develop it further; in several of his works the hunter dominates the canvas to such an extent that all that is visible apart from the figure of the hunter are the trophies of the hunt (Fig.1).
Ribot was personally devoted to this subject. Indeed, his own son posed for a work dated 1863: shown with gun and carrying sack, the hunter has been portrayed by the artist during a moment of thoughtful introspection (Fig.2). In the present painting, from the same time period, the rugged model imparts a sense of impending action to the scene. With his expectant air and heightened physical energy, the hunter--shown holding a double barrel flintlock gun and carrying a deerskin shoulder sack--appears ready to fire as he moves stealthily towards a nearby prey. Ribot's vigorous application of the paint, as well as his skillful handling of tones of teal blue, off-white, tan and rose, further enliven the pictorial surface and demonstrate the artist's abilities not only as a tonalist who was known for working in shades of browns and blacks, but also as a sensitive and subtle colorist. When this painting was first exhibited publicly, its forthright depiction of the hunting theme, as well as the picture's heightened narrative (placing the hunter directly before the spectator) and the atmosphere of immediacy most certainly attracted attention. Unlike other artists, such as Alexandre Decamps and Philippe Rousseau, who focused on portraying the hunter in a landscape setting as part of a small genre scene, Ribot had monumentalized his subject. He remained true to delineating an individual who wears the dress of a real hunter and embodies a unique personality.
As Ribot successfully challenged conventional Realist themes, he transformed a popular type--the hunter--into a figure worthy of exhibition in the annual Salon, just as he had similarly immortalized the figure of the cook. With achievements such as these, the art of Realism gained new vitality and Ribot emerged as a leading proponent of the movement. Today, at a time of increasing interest in the artist's work, The Hunter stands out as one of Ribot's most original and commanding early paintings.
This painting will be included in Professor Gabriel P. Weisberg's forthcoming catalogue raisonné of the artist's work, prepared with the assistance of the Wildenstein Foundation.
We are grateful to Professor Weisberg for his assistance in preparing this catalogue entry.
Fig. 1: Théodule Ribot, The Poacher (Le Braconnier), location unknown
Fig. 2: Théodule Ribot, A Young Vendean, The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, Adeline Van Horne Bequest
Photo credit: The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, Brian Merrett
By the 1860s, Ribot was beginning to respond artistically to the growing interest in images of rural life and the complexities of urban existence. Throughout this period, he focused on reworking familiar figures and traditions from the past while striving to enhance their relevance for the contemporary viewer. One recurring theme is that of the hunter. While other painters incorporated the image of the hunter as part of a larger view of the rural environment, in Ribot's work this figure often dominates the entire scene. Whether he saw the hunter as a symbol of independence or as a poacher stalking his prey is immaterial--his use of this rustic type represented a move towards the new artistic motifs that were being embraced by the progessive Realists. Significantly, Ribot seized this particular theme at a time when other painters were hesitant to develop it further; in several of his works the hunter dominates the canvas to such an extent that all that is visible apart from the figure of the hunter are the trophies of the hunt (Fig.1).
Ribot was personally devoted to this subject. Indeed, his own son posed for a work dated 1863: shown with gun and carrying sack, the hunter has been portrayed by the artist during a moment of thoughtful introspection (Fig.2). In the present painting, from the same time period, the rugged model imparts a sense of impending action to the scene. With his expectant air and heightened physical energy, the hunter--shown holding a double barrel flintlock gun and carrying a deerskin shoulder sack--appears ready to fire as he moves stealthily towards a nearby prey. Ribot's vigorous application of the paint, as well as his skillful handling of tones of teal blue, off-white, tan and rose, further enliven the pictorial surface and demonstrate the artist's abilities not only as a tonalist who was known for working in shades of browns and blacks, but also as a sensitive and subtle colorist. When this painting was first exhibited publicly, its forthright depiction of the hunting theme, as well as the picture's heightened narrative (placing the hunter directly before the spectator) and the atmosphere of immediacy most certainly attracted attention. Unlike other artists, such as Alexandre Decamps and Philippe Rousseau, who focused on portraying the hunter in a landscape setting as part of a small genre scene, Ribot had monumentalized his subject. He remained true to delineating an individual who wears the dress of a real hunter and embodies a unique personality.
As Ribot successfully challenged conventional Realist themes, he transformed a popular type--the hunter--into a figure worthy of exhibition in the annual Salon, just as he had similarly immortalized the figure of the cook. With achievements such as these, the art of Realism gained new vitality and Ribot emerged as a leading proponent of the movement. Today, at a time of increasing interest in the artist's work, The Hunter stands out as one of Ribot's most original and commanding early paintings.
This painting will be included in Professor Gabriel P. Weisberg's forthcoming catalogue raisonné of the artist's work, prepared with the assistance of the Wildenstein Foundation.
We are grateful to Professor Weisberg for his assistance in preparing this catalogue entry.
Fig. 1: Théodule Ribot, The Poacher (Le Braconnier), location unknown
Fig. 2: Théodule Ribot, A Young Vendean, The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, Adeline Van Horne Bequest
Photo credit: The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, Brian Merrett