Monogrammist F. G.
19th Century French School

Doe Trophy

Oil on Vachet panel
Monogrammed FG and dated lower right
41 x 32 cm
1831

This animal still life, signed with the monogram FG and dated 1831, is part of the tradition of hunting scenes developed since the 17th century, particularly in Flemish and French painting. The artist depicts a doe trophy in a sober composition with dark, earthy tones. The realism of the anatomy, the delicate treatment of the fur, and the subtle light that isolates the animal against an indistinct background suggest a naturalistic intention.

Dated 1831, the work bears witness to a pivotal moment when Romantic painting opened up to subjects drawn from real nature, marking a shift towards direct observation and animal sensitivity. The monogram FG, still not definitively identified, could refer to a painter trained in the circle of early 19th-century French naturalists, precursors of artists such as Gustave Courbet (1819-1877)—who revisited a very similar composition at the end of his life in 1876—or even Rosa Bonheur (1822-1899).

With its simplicity and frontality, this small painting strikes with its expressive density, concentrated entirely in the animal's inert body. It is part of an intimate vein of animal painting, far from the spectacular, but equally striking in its evocative power.