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Creator:
Francis Barlow, 1622–1704
Title:
Man Hunting with a Pointed Staff and a Hound
Date:
ca. 1645-1650
Materials & Techniques:
Pen and brown ink on medium, slightly textured, cream laid paper
Dimensions:
Sheet: 4 5/8 × 6 inches (11.7 × 15.2 cm)
Inscription(s)/Marks/Lettering:

Collector's mark: Thomas Esmond Lowinsky (Lugt 2420a); collector's mark, verso: Paul Mellon

Signed in pen and brown ink, lower right: "Francis Barlow | invent it"

Credit Line:
Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Collection
Copyright Status:
Public Domain
Accession Number:
B1977.14.4144
Classification:
Drawings & Watercolors
Collection:
Prints and Drawings
Subject Terms:
dogs (animals) | hunting | man | sporting art | staffs (staff weapon components)
Access:
Accessible by appointment in the Study Room [Request]
Note: The Study Room is open by appointment. Please visit the Study Room page on our website for more details.
Link:
https://collections.britishart.yale.edu/catalog/tms:13874
Export:
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IIIF Manifest:
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Many features of this drawing suggest that it was meant to be engraved. The cross-hatching and emphatic outlines are unmistakably reminiscent of preparatory sketches for the engraver. The expression "invent it" (from the Latin invenit, i.e., "has invented") specifically refers to the convention of prints as well. Judging from the vignettelike design of this drawing, similar in format and inspiration to an equestrian subject in the Blofeld collection (background lacking), this piece may have been destined to be part of a sourcebook or design manual for artists. The overly emphatic signature, with its exaggerated festooning, is perhaps indicative of a work produced in Barlow's early career. Indeed, comparison with David Slaying the Lion (British Museum, London) suggests that the drawing dates to the late 1640s.

The exact subject of this composition is uncertain; the title was not given by the artist himself. It has sometimes been referred to as "otter hunting," although this has been convincingly contested (Egerton and Snelgrove, 1978, p. 20; Stainton and White, 1987, p. 142). Barlow designed an Otter Hunting (etched by Yeates) for Blome's compendium in which two-pointed prongs are used by hunters; furthermore, the hounds usually required for this type of hunting do not resemble those appearing in this sheet.

Stephane Roy

John Baskett, Paul Mellon's Legacy: a Passion for British Art: Masterpieces from the Yale Center for British Art, Yale Center for British Art, New Haven, CT, 2007, pp. 244-45, no. 9, N5220 M552 P38 2007 OVERSIZE (YCBA)

An American's Passion for British Art - Paul Mellon's Legacy (Royal Academy of Arts, 2007-10-20 - 2008-01-27) [YCBA Objects in the Exhibition]

Paul Mellon's Legacy : A Passion for British Art (Yale Center for British Art, 2007-04-18 - 2007-07-29) [YCBA Objects in the Exhibition] [Exhibition Description]

An American's Passion for British Art - Paul Mellon's Legacy (Yale Center for British Art, 2007-04-18 - 2007-07-29) [YCBA Objects in the Exhibition]

Drawing in England from Hilliard to Hogarth (Yale Center for British Art, 1987-09-19 - 1987-11-08) [YCBA Objects in the Exhibition]

Drawing in England from Hilliard to Hogarth (British Museum, 1987-06-18 - 1987-08-31) [YCBA Objects in the Exhibition]

John Baskett, Paul Mellon's Legacy: a Passion for British Art: Masterpieces from the Yale Center for British Art, , Yale Center for British Art, New Haven, CT, 2007, pp. 244-45, no. 9, N5220 M552 P38 2007 OVERSIZE (YCBA) [YCBA]

Judy Egerton, British sporting and animal drawings c.1500-1850: A Catalogue, The Paul Mellon Collection , Tate Publishing, London, 1978, p. 20, NC780 B75 OVERSIZE (YCBA) [YCBA]

Nathan Flis, "The Drawings of Francis Barlow: From Apprenticeship to 'Aesop's Fables,' 1648-66", Master Drawings, v. 49, Winter 2011, p. 483, fig. 3, NC1 M37 2011 (YCBA) [YCBA]

Nathan Flis, New light on Francis Barlow (1622-1704) : Britain's first sporting artist, Essays of Friends of British Sporting Art, no. 80, The British Sporting Art Trust, Autumn 2022, Front cover, fig. 1, N8250 .B751 80 (YCBA) [YCBA]

Nathan Flis, New Light on Francis Barlow (1622-1704) Britain's First Sporting Artist, Newsletter ( British Sporting Art Trust ), The British Sporting Art Trust, London, Autumn 2022, Cover, N8250 B75 (YCBA) [YCBA]

Paul Mellon's Legacy : a passion for British art [large print labels], , Yale Center for British Art, New Haven, CT, 2007, v. 2, no. 9, N5220 M552 P381 2007 OVERSIZE (YCBA) [YCBA]

Lindsay Stainton, Drawing in England from Hilliard to Hogarth, Cambridge University Press, New York, 1987, p. 142, no. 101, NC228 S73 1987 (YCBA) [YCBA]


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