Dawn—Hunter with Dog

1882

Dawn—Hunter with Dog, 1882. Henri Joseph Harpignies (French, 1819–1916). Watercolor; sheet: 37.6 x 53.5 cm (14 13/16 x 21 1/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Bequest of Muriel Butkin 2008.391 Created at the height of Henri Harpignies's career, this large watercolor landscape features the artist's characteristic gray-green palette. Harpignies developed the composition using overlapping planes unified by a meandering stream or road. It is impossible to identify the exact setting of the image, which instead was likely meant as a souvenir of the French countryside Harpignies knew well and represented often. The figure seen in this drawing was typical of Henri Harpignies's watercolors, which often featured hunters, fishermen, hikers, and sometimes artists.