Gustave Courbet (French, 1819–1877)
Fox in the Snow, 1860
Oil on canvas
33 3/4 x 50 5/16 in. (85.72 x 127.79 cm)
Foundation for the Arts Collection, Mrs. John B. O'Hara Fund, 1979.7.FA

Courbet’s keenly observed and compelling portrayal of a fox devouring a rat was exhibited in the official French Salon of 1861. At that time, it was selected by the state-run lottery commission for their annual benefit lottery sale; Khalil Bey, former Turkish ambassador to the court of the czar, added it to his important collection of contemporary masters. The luxuriant, almost palpable coat of the fox contrasts with the white snow, just as his animal vitality and energy are contraposed to the frozen stillness of the rocks and plants.

Gustave Courbet’s Fox in the Snow depicts the animal mauling its prey, the rodent’s blood spilling onto the blanket of snow. The brutality of this image is intensified by the brilliance and directness of Courbet’s brushstroke. The artist deftly wields brush and palette knife, differentiating the softness of the animal’s fur and the crispness of the frozen ground. This painting is a quintessential example of Courbet’s realism; he refused to depict traditional subjects of mythology or history and was instead intensely fascinated with subjects of everyday life.