Charles Émile Jacque (French, 1813-1894). Sheep and chickens in a stable. Oil on canvas. 9-3/4 x 13-1/8 inches (24.8 x 3...

Description

Charles Émile Jacque (French, 1813-1894)
Sheep and chickens in a stable
Oil on canvas
9-3/4 x 13-1/8 inches (24.8 x 33.3 cm)
Signed lower left: Ch. Jacque

The present work includes a unique detail revealing a glimpse of the artist's practice. The upper left corner displays an unusual apparition of billowing white and gray, which at first glance appears out of place. Upon closer inspection, these pigments are not later additions, and are in fact the very same which appear elsewhere on the sheep. Jacque strongly favored this farmyard motif, and presented his livestock both indoors and out. When examined against examples of his outdoor settings, the anomaly in the upper left corner becomes clearer: rolling clouds and a dim, stormy sky. The work is suspended in a state of transition, as Jacque apparently started to change the background of this scene from a stable interior to a bucolic field. He took care to add the sky around the left edges of the manger, so we can assume that this particular element was to be retained in the final composition. Why the work was left in flux, and even signed by the artist as though finished, remains a charming mystery.




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