The Old Hunter 1924

Algernon Talmage made this oil painting, titled *The Old Hunter,* sometime between the late 19th and early 20th century. I can imagine how this piece has come into being, shifting and emerging through trial, error, and intuition. I sympathize with the artist, working with pigment to convey the light dappling through the trees and across the backs of the horses. The paint looks like it was applied pretty thinly, in these small brushstrokes that give shape to the horses and suggest depth to the forest. Did you notice how the tail of the white horse on the right is facing us? Maybe it was thinking about Courbet’s paintings of forest scenes, or the works of the Impressionists. Artists are always in conversation like that, across time, inspiring each other’s creativity. And just like those artists, Talmage embraces ambiguity and uncertainty, leaving space for multiple interpretations and meanings.