Nature is cruel, and life depends on a ruthless struggle between antagonists. But no hope or sympathy is likely in this bleak mountain landscape, blackened by rainclouds. Indeed, it would have reminded Landseer’s audience, if only subconsciously, of the heavenward pleading of martyred saints and victims of catastrophe pictured in historic art. Its upward gaze expresses agony of mind, like that of a doomed human being. The exhausted stag tries to keep its hold on the stones, but is being dragged inexorably towards the edge of the precipice. 2 It has wounded one dog with its antlers, but the other dog has fastened onto its ear and is pinning it down. ![]() 1 A stag is beset by two deerhounds in a fast-flowing beck among jagged rocks. ![]() This was the first of Landseer’s many compositions showing the life of red deer in the Scottish Highlands (Tate N00412, fig.1).
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |