Deer and Deer Hounds in a Mountain Torrent

Art is one of the many ancient practices of man to have evolved into the modern error. Back in the day, art mostly involved sketching of images and objects on walls. However, with the contemporary age in progress, art has managed to evolve into painting, curving sculpts, etc.

Below we are going to look at an 1832 wildlife painting at the Tate Modern in the UK dubbed as Deer and Deer Hounds in a Mountain Torrent.

This painting is one of Landseer's famous compositions portraying the life of a red deer. The painting above shows a red deer and a hound in the middle of a nasty torrent surrounded by jagged rocks of the Scottish Highlands. The deer in this painting is under the chase by two hounds that have sandwiched him in the middle. Luckily, the deer has one of the dogs injured with its antlers. However, the dog on the right has the deer by the ear, thus attempting to pin it down. As such, this forces the deer to make an upward gaze of agony, similar to a doomed human. Despite his situation, the deer attempts to maintain its hold on the stones. However, his attempt seems in vain since he is dragged towards the edge of the precipice.

Sadly, the surrounding landscape only makes matters worse for the deer to escape its fate. For instance, the deer is surrounded in a torrent full of rugged rocks and terrain. Furthermore, the deer is trapped in a pool of water, thus forcing him to keep afloat while fighting off the hounds. With all these considered plus the disadvantage in number, it is safe to say that the deer will not survive this episode.

As seen above, the stag displays nobility, courage, and will to fight, although the odds are against him. As such, this should encourage us to adopt a similar attitude to the stag regardless of the position we find ourselves. That aside, the painting also portrays Landseer as a talented artist. For instance, this piece perfectly displays the home of a mostly isolated mountain deer. Further, his blend of colour and awareness of the environment (use of dark clouds) blends in with the mood of sorrow. Last but not least, his lighting and use of shadows in the painting makes the painting bold and real to gaze at.