Charles Suan (French, 1810-1879)
The Hunter and His Dog
Oil on canvas

Signed and dated C. Suan 1839 lower right. 18 x 15 inches (46 x 38 cm), the frame 22 x 18 inches (56 x 46 cm). Period gilt frame with carved corner ornaments. Unlined, with old restorations in the sky and along the lower edge.

The dog looks up at the man. The man looks out at us, standing full length on a path in a dark buttoned shooting coat and gray trousers, the gun grounded at his right hand and his hat held low in the left, while the pointing dog sits at his feet in a dark liver and white coat. Behind them the ground falls away to a river valley with a distant town, under a bank of gray cloud that opens to blue above his head.

The autumn foliage on either side is worked in short dry touches, and a broken trunk closes the composition on the right. The face is finished with far more care than the trees behind it. The back shows the canvas still unlined, its stretcher braced across the corners and two old patches set into the weave.