Desportes, Alexandre-François
(b. 1661, Champigneulle, France--d. April 20, 1743, Paris), French
painter who specialized in portraying animals, hunts, and emblems of
the chase; he was among the first 18th-century artists to introduce
landscape studies using nature as a model.
[Encyclopaedia Britannica, 1994]
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The Fox Hunt
French painter of dogs, game, and emblems of the chase.
In his early career he worked much as a portraitist, notably
in 1695-96 at the court of Jan Sobieski (John III) in Poland,
but on his return to France he took up hunting subjects and won
the patronage of Louis XIV and Louis XV.
He achieved considerable celebrity (he was well received on a visit
to England in 1712) and in his field was rivalled only by
Oudry.
Although he continued the lavish Flemish tradition exemplified by
Snyders,
Desportes was among the first artists of the 18th century to make
landscape studies from nature for his backgrounds, and because of
this he was considered eccentric. His work is well represented
in the Louvre, which has Self-Portrait as a Huntsman (1699)
and in the Wallace Collection, London.
© 14 Jul 2002,
Nicolas Pioch -
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The Fox Hunt