Artwork
Hiver (Le Loup dans la neige)
Hiver (Le Loup dans la neige) is an ink print by the Impressionist artist Félix Bracquemond. It dates from 1864 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
- Inscription
- Inscribed:recto: in plate, in image, at upper right: B. [underlined]; below image, at right, in graphite: Bracquemond [underlined]; verso: at lower left, in graphite, in later hand: B23168; at lower right, in graphite, in later hand: HO
About this work
Overview
Created in 1864, Hiver (Le Loup dans la neige) is an etching executed on laid paper by French artist Félix Henri Bracquemond. The composition presents a wintry woodland scene, with skeletal trees aligned beneath a muted sky and a solitary wolf traversing a snow‑covered path. The work exemplifies Bracquemond’s interest in atmospheric landscape and narrative minimalism.
Subject & Meaning
The print captures a quiet, desolate winter environment, using the lone wolf as a focal point that suggests both isolation and the persistence of life amid stark conditions. The sparse arrangement of trees and the expansive snow field emphasize the silence of the season, inviting contemplation of nature’s endurance.
Technique & Style
Bracquemond employed fine, closely spaced lines to render deep shadows and the texture of bark, giving the trees a subtle three‑dimensional quality. The etching process, involving incised metal plates and careful ink application, allows for delicate tonal gradations that convey the pale sky and the soft blanket of snow.
History & Provenance
The piece reflects his broader artistic activities, which also included contributions to the Japonisme trend through decorative pottery designs.
As a leading figure in the mid‑nineteenth‑century revival of printmaking, Bracquemond produced this work during a period when he encouraged peers such as Édouard Manet and Edgar Degas to experiment with the medium. The piece reflects his broader artistic activities, which also included contributions to the Japonisme trend through decorative pottery designs. He was married to Impressionist painter Marie Bracquemond, linking him to another strand of contemporary French art.
Own this work as a print
Artist & collection
Artist
Félix Henri Bracquemond was a French painter, etcher, and printmaker. He played a key role in the revival of printmaking, encouraging artists such as Édouard Manet, Edgar Degas and Camille Pissarro to use this technique.
- Winter
December
The Bugle Call
Winter Evening
Deer in the Woods (Les Cerfs sous bois)
Midwinter
Path in Parco delle Cascine (Un viale interno delle Cascine)
Untitled (Wooded Landscape)
Avenue of Poplars (L'allee de peupliers)
Sunset (Coucher du soleil)
Moonlit Stroll in Winter
Woods in Winter Sun, 2nd plate (Soleil d'hiver dans les bois)