Study of Pigs
c. 1855
Medium
Oil on paper, mounted on canvas
Dimensions
27 × 35.4 cm (11 5/8 × 13 7/8 in.); Framed: 36.2 × 44.1 × 5.1 cm (14 1/4 × 17 3/8 × 2 in.)
Classification
painting
Department
Painting and Sculpture of Europe
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
882
Rights
Public Domain
Art Historical Context
Created around 1855, Alexandre Gabriel Decamps’s “Study of Pigs” offers an intimate look at animal life through the eyes of a skilled 19th-century observer. Housed in the Art Institute of Chicago’s collection of European painting and sculpture, this modest work measures just 27 by 35.4 centimeters, drawing viewers into a close, unidealized encounter with its subjects. The choice of oil on paper mounted on canvas was especially practical for such studies. This support allowed artists to work rapidly outdoors or in the studio, layering rich color and texture while retaining the freshness of a sketch. Decamps used the medium to explore the pigs’ rounded forms, bristly coats, and subtle play of light, turning an ordinary farm scene into a lively exercise in observation. As a preparatory study rather than a finished exhibition piece, the painting reveals the working methods of its time—when artists frequently returned to direct studies of animals to inform larger compositions. Its quiet focus on humble subjects underscores the period’s growing interest in naturalism and everyday life.
About the Artist
Alexandre Gabriel Decamps · 1803–1860
Comment on works: genre