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Wild Sow and Her Young Attacked by Dogs
About the Artwork
Jean-Baptiste Oudry began his career as a portraitist but gradually became known for his paintings of animals and hunting scenes. These images attracted the attention of Louis XV, and Oudry became one of France's foremost decorative painters during the king's reign. Here, the artist highlighted a violent battle between a sow and a group of dogs. The drawing relates to one of Oudry's most successful Salon paintings, which was exhibited to great acclaim in 1748. The sketchy lines and lack of detail throughout the sheet suggest that it was likely a study made in preparation for the later canvas, which was purchased by Louis XV and installed in one of his homes.
Inscriptions
signd, lower left, in brown ink: JB. Oudry 1748
Provenance
?-1776: Nijman (Neyman), Amsterdam 1776: (Basan, Paris, July 8-11, 1776, no. 613, sold to Fouquet) 1776-?: Fouquet ?-?: Fäsch family, Basel ?-?: Private Collection, Switzerland ?-1997: (Marianne Joannides, London, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art) 1997-: The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
Exhibition history
Master Drawings from the Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (August 27-October 17, 2000); The Morgan Library & Museum, New York, NY (May 23-August 19, 2001); Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Houston, TX (October 14, 2001-January 6, 2002). Elegance and Intrigue: French Society in 18th-century Prints and Drawings. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (July 16-November 6, 2016).
Quick Overview
- Artist
- Jean-Baptiste Oudry (French, 1686–1755)
- Date
- 1748
- Medium
- Pen and brown and gray ink, brown and gray wash, heightened with white gouache on light brown laid paper
- Dimensions
- Sheet: 37.7 x 51.7 cm (14 13/16 x 20 3/8 in.)
- Type
- Drawing
- Classification
- Drawing
- Department
- Drawings
- Credit line
- Andrew R. and Martha Holden Jennings Fund
- Accession no.
- 1997.191
More by Jean Baptiste Oudry in museum collections
Data retrieved from the Cleveland Museum of Art on October 8, 2026. The museum may have updated its record since.
Open-access museum record · AT-00011099
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