Gabriel Alexandre Decamps
French, 1803–1860
Bird Hunting
1830
Decamps’s many hunting scenes reveal a detailed knowledge of the sport, developed during his rural upbringing. In this painting, the red object on the horizon is a lure covered with mirrors. One of the larks attracted by the lure has been shot by the hunter on the right. Images like this proved very popular with contemporary collectors.
| Medium | oil on canvas |
| Dimensions | 13 11/16 x 20 in. (34.8 x 50.8 cm) Frame: 20 1/2 x 26 1/2 x 2 3/8 in. (52.1 x 67.3 x 6 cm) |
| Object Number | 1955.701 |
| Acquisition | Acquired by Sterling and Francine Clark before 1955 |
| Status | Off View |
Image Caption
Gabriel Alexandre Decamps, Bird Hunting, 1830, oil on canvas. Clark Art Institute, 1955.701
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EUROPEAN PAINTINGS CATALOGUE ENTRY
Provenance
Charles-Auguste-Louis-Joseph, duc de Morny, Paris (by 1855–d. 1865, his sale, Paris, 31 May 1865, no. 9, as Chasse au miroir); Khalil Bey, Paris (until Jan. 1868, his sale, Drouot, Paris, 16–18 Jan. 1868, no. 12, as Chasseurs au miroir); Comte de Lambertye (until Dec. 1868, his sale, Drouot, Paris, 17 Dec. 1868, no. 14, as Le Chasseur au miroir); [Haro, père et fils, Paris, until 1892, their sale, Galerie Sedelmeyer, Paris, 30–31 May 1892, no. 75, as Chasse au miroir, sold to Durand-Ruel]; [Durand-Ruel, Paris and New York, 1892–1933, sold to Clark, 20 June 1933, as La Chasse au miroir];¹ Robert Sterling Clark (1933–55); Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, 1955. 1. According to the Durand-Ruel Archives, the painting was transferred several times between the galleries in Paris and New York: it was sold from Paris to New York on 19 Apr. 1893; from New York to Paris on 25 June 1896; and from Paris to New York on 20 Aug. 1898. See correspondence of 24 Apr. 2001 in the Clark’s curatorial file.
