René Princeteau (1843, 1914) French - Hunting Scene.

Oil on parquet panel, signed lower left.
Dimensions: 16 x 22 cm, with frame: 34 x 40 cm.

This scene of hunting with hounds brushed with an alert painting is characteristic of the work of René Princeteau, known for the agility of his touch which expresses so well the movement and the sensation of speed and lightness of the horse and its rider.

Coming from a family of wealthy notables owning castles and vineyards, René Princeteau was deaf from birth. He studied at the Institut des jeunes dead in Paris. After having taken sculpture lessons in Bordeaux, he studied in 1865 at the School of Fine Arts in Paris, under the direction of Auguste Dumont. Friend of Alphonse de Toulouse-Lautrec, he became his first master in 1871. He exhibited at the Salon des Artistes Français from 1868 busts and genre paintings. He rose to fame with his paintings of horses at the 1885 Salon. He produced numerous paintings of hunting with hounds, races, as well as landscapes and equestrian portraits. In 1883, Princeteau left Paris for the Libournais where he was originally from. This period marks the beginning of his large compositions celebrating rural life. He settled in the castle of Pontus near Fronsac. René Princeteau is considered one of the masters of hunting and horse painting.

Bibliography: Princeteau gentleman, seven catalogs published on the occasion of the René Princeteau retrospective at the Musée des Beaux-Arts in Libourne from June 15, 2007 to October 3, 2009. Le Festin, Bordeaux.

Museums: Paris (Petit Palais Museum), Bordeaux, Montauban