[Still Life of a Hunting Scene]

[Still Life of a Hunting Scene]

Adolphe Braun, negative about 1867; print about 1880

Download2913 × 4000 px View on a wall Edit

Artist: Adolphe Braun (French, 1812–1877)
Medium: Carbon print
Size: Image: 77.3 × 56.2 cm (30 7/16 × 22 1/8 in.)
Culture: French
Museum: J. Paul Getty Museum
Rights: CC0 — no rights reserved

The category of still life painting emerged during the Baroque period in Italy and Belgium. Adolphe Braun photographed works of art from numerous European collections, so he was certainly familiar with such paintings from those assignments. This image of the hunt, with a dead boar and bird, rifle, trumpet, and woodsy vegetation suggests the sporting scene. At first glance the assemblage appears to be an effusively illuminated initial E from a manuscript. Then the gruesome scene reveals itself. The reality of the boar's lifeless body is less picturesque in this highly detailed photograph than it might be in a similar scene in a painting. The photograph's ability to imitate nature so realistically makes for a sober, macabre image.

Text: J. Paul Getty Trust, CC BY 4.0.

More by Adolphe Braun

[Flower Study, Rose of Sharon]

[Flower Study, Rose of Sharon]

Adolphe Braun, ca. 1854

Château de Chillon

Château de Chillon

Adolphe Braun, c. 1870, printed c. 1900

Summit of Mont Titlis, Switzerland

Summit of Mont Titlis, Switzerland

Adolphe Braun, 1866

[Alpine Landscape]

[Alpine Landscape]

Adolphe Braun, 1865–1870

Valley of Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland (from the album Charbons de Braun- vues prises avec l'objectif panoramique mobile, 1868)

Valley of Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland (from the album Charbons de Braun- vues prises avec l'objectif panoramique mobile, 1868)

Adolphe Braun, c. 1868

[Alpine Landscape]

[Alpine Landscape]

Adolphe Braun, 1865–1870

Detail of Gainsborough's "Portrait of Madame Beaufoy"

Detail of Gainsborough's "Portrait of Madame Beaufoy"

Adolphe Braun, 1903

Floral and Berry Wreath

Floral and Berry Wreath

Adolphe Braun, c. 1855

Switzerland. Grindelwald, Upper Glacier, Source of the Lutschine

Switzerland. Grindelwald, Upper Glacier, Source of the Lutschine

Adolphe Braun, 1875–77

[Alpine Landscape]

[Alpine Landscape]

Adolphe Braun, 1865–1870

Trophy of the Hunt

Trophy of the Hunt

Adolphe Braun, c. 1867

Detail of Gainsborough's "Portrait of Madame Beaufoy"

Detail of Gainsborough's "Portrait of Madame Beaufoy"

Adolphe Braun, 1903

Visually similar

[Still Life with Game and Gun]

[Still Life with Game and Gun]

Roger Fenton, about 1859

[Four male students reclining al fresco]

[Four male students reclining al fresco]

Thomas Eakins, 1880–1885

William J. Crowell with Ella

William J. Crowell with Ella

Thomas Eakins, 1880

Trophy of the Hunt

Trophy of the Hunt

Adolphe Braun, c. 1867

Versailles, Fountain of Triumphant France

Versailles, Fountain of Triumphant France

Eugène Atget, 1904

Versailles, Fontaine du Point du Jour, (Tigre Terrassant un Ours par Houzeau)

Versailles, Fontaine du Point du Jour, (Tigre Terrassant un Ours par Houzeau)

Eugène Atget, 1903

Versailles, Fountaine du Point du Jour

Versailles, Fountaine du Point du Jour

Eugène Atget, 1903

Bear and Elf (Bär und Elfe): pl.1

Bear and Elf (Bär und Elfe): pl.1

Max Klinger, published 1881

The Widower

James Tissot, 1877

Versailles, Fontaine du Point du Jour

Versailles, Fontaine du Point du Jour

Eugène Atget, 1903

Versailles, Fontaine de Point du Jour, (Limier Abattant un Cerf par Houzeau)

Versailles, Fontaine de Point du Jour, (Limier Abattant un Cerf par Houzeau)

Eugène Atget, 1903

Saint George and the Dragon

Saint George and the Dragon

Lewis Carroll, June 26, 1875