Charles-Emile Jacque

CHARLES-EMILE JACQUE (France, 1813 - 1894).
"The end of the day".
Oil on canvas.
Signed in the lower margin.
Measurements: 29 x 38,5 cm; 35 x 45 cm (frame).

A peasant, mounted on a white horse, occupies the center of this landscape composition of a sunset rich in earthy and ochre shades. The two horses drink from a pond, whose calm waters ripple gently and act as a mirror of the silver lights of the sky.

Charles-Emile Jacque was a French painter and engraver of the Barbizon School who specialized in painting animals. He began learning to engrave maps when he was in the French army. After military service, he went to England, where he worked as an engraver for Le Charivari. In painting, his subject matter was mainly rustic: shepherds, flocks of sheep, pigs, and scenes of farm life. Returning to France after living abroad for two years, he made his debut at the Paris Salon of 1833 with two works and contributed works regularly to the Salon until 1870. Awarded for both his etchings and his paintings, he received the Legion of Honor in 1867.