Studies van een paardenkadaver en een dode opgehangen hond

About this artwork

zwart en gekleurd krijt

Art Historical Context

This delicate chalk study by French artist Denis Auguste Marie Raffet captures two somber subjects: the carcass of a horse and the body of a hanged dog. Created on paper measuring roughly 25 by 34 centimeters between 1814 and 1860, the drawing employs both black and colored chalk to render the animals with careful attention to texture, weight, and decay. Such studies reflect the nineteenth-century interest in direct observation of the natural world, allowing artists to explore anatomy and form outside the studio. Raffet, best known for his military illustrations and lithographs, here turns his gaze toward the quiet aftermath of life. The contrast between the massive horse and the smaller suspended dog creates a haunting visual rhythm, while the soft layering of chalk lends the forms both volume and a muted, almost tender quality. Works like this often served as preparatory material, helping artists develop the emotional depth and realism found in larger compositions. For visitors today, the piece offers a rare glimpse into an artist’s private practice. It reminds us that even dramatic historical scenes began with patient, intimate encounters with the physical world, recorded stroke by stroke in colored chalk.

About the Artist

Denis Auguste Marie Raffet · 1804–1860

Denis Auguste Marie Raffet (1804–1860) was born in Paris and displayed an early aptitude for drawing, though his initial apprenticeship was to a wood turner. He pursued art through evening classes and, at age eighteen, joined the workshop of Cabanel as a porcelain painter, where he met Rudor, who taught him lithography. Raffet studied under Nicolas Toussaint Charlet from 1824 to 1829 and completed...