Chasse au Cerf 1848 - 1858

This is "Chasse au Cerf," or "Deer Hunt," an etching by Charles Jacque. In it, we see figures on horseback, hunting deer near a dark forest. Hunting has been a motif in art for millennia, often symbolizing the relationship between humanity and nature, power and subjugation. Consider the ancient cave paintings of Lascaux, where the hunt was depicted as a ritual, a means of survival, but also a sacred act. Here, in Jacque's image, the hunt takes on a different character. The figures on horseback are less about survival and more about sport, a display of mastery over the natural world. But let us not forget the myth of Actaeon, who, upon witnessing Diana bathing, was transformed into a stag and hunted down by his own hounds. The hunt is, thus, fraught with psychological undertones: the hunter becomes the hunted; the observer becomes the observed. This duality speaks to the subconscious tension between control and vulnerability. Jacque captures a fleeting moment, yet evokes a powerful, cyclical drama that resonates across time.