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Description: | The spearing of otters was a custom which did not die out until the late 19th century. In this picture Landseer was probably trying to emulate artists of the past such as Rubens who had painted similar hunting subjects. To the present-day viewer, the subject seems a strangely cruel one to choose, but the Victorians may have seen it as an example of the savagery of nature. The huntsman is depicted as part of the pack, his flushed and grimacing face echoing the slavering jaws of the hounds. The otter itself is shown as savage but courageous, continuing to strike back though mortally wounded. Its prey, two salmon, lie dead on the bank. | Publisher: | Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums | Temporal: | Production date: 1844 | Source: | Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums | Creator: | Sir Edwin Henry Landseer (RA) | Identifier: | http://www.twmuseums.org.uk/artonline/se... | Go to resource |
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