Shop art print and framed art Lièvre couché by Albrecht Dürer

The Hare (in German: Feldhase) is a watercolour and gouache painting produced in 1502 by the German artist Albrecht Dürer. The drawing, done in the studio, is recognised as one of the painter's masterpieces of observation from nature, on a par with the Great Tuft of Grass, produced the following year. The hare is treated as an autonomous subject: it is represented alone, without any background or decoration, on a sheet of paper of almost square format, occupying almost the entire surface. It is shown three-quarter right, in a crouching position, on a sloping diagonal running from the top left-hand corner to the bottom right-hand corner. His gaze is directed along this diagonal, towards the space in front of the representation. The point of view adopted by the painter, in front of his subject, in a slight overhead view, makes it possible to depict the external aspect of the animal in all its complexity. Thanks to the almost photographic precision of the drawing, it is possible to identify a specimen that is around two years old and fully grown - contrary to what the generally accepted English title, Young Hare, implies. Dürer took up a particularly difficult challenge, accurately rendering the organisation of the different tufts of hair and the many shades of brown, light and dark, in the coat. Dürer therefore had to play with the traditional conventions of depicting shadows to emphasise the outline of his subject using falling light, while giving the illusion of depth thanks [...]

 

This artwork is a drawing from the renaissance period. It belongs to the flemish & northern renaissance style.

 

« Lièvre couché » is kept at Louvre, Paris, France.

 

Find the full description of Lièvre couché by Albrecht Dürer on Wikipedia.