Game, 19th century

Still-lifes depicting game were another favourite genre throughout Europe. These were usually depicted in an interior, on a table, or outdoor as hunting trophies, which were often guarded by hunting dogs, as is the case in Game in the National Gallery. This skilful rendering of the still life and the dogs, accompanied nonetheless by a less careful treatment of the background, has been attributed to the French artist Francois Desportes (1661 – 1743). Yet, the detailed study of the canvas and the pigments, carried out in the National Gallery’s Physicochemical Research Laboratory dated this work to the early 19th century.