“The English Farmyard: Horses, Pigs and Chicks” John Frederick Herring (1820 – 1907)

Oil painting on canvas (first canvas) diameter 40 cm, 65 x 65 cm including coeval frame, viewed and cleaned by a professional restoration studio.

John Frederick Herring JR follows in his father's footsteps, dedicating himself to Animalier painting, specializing in the equestrian theme which was very popular at the time throughout England. The fashion for the Animalier genre is supported by an ancestral attraction on the part of the citizen for the rural atmosphere of the countryside, in a historical moment of great changes and revolutions, the industrial one first and foremost, the pastoral world of Flemish tradition occupies a place of first rate in the artistic panorama for a long time. England holds the record for the number of equestrian-themed artists and works exhibited, at the Queen's Court Stubbs and Landseer remain unrivaled in terms of popularity, artistic production and prestige. The Herring Family was considered "one of England's great Sporting and Equestrian artists". In the 19th century a precise definition of Animalier was sketched out, extended to everything that fell within a very specific conception created by Naturalists, Philosophers, Ethologists, Poets, Sages and Artists . The Animalier genre will be taken into consideration as an indicator of man's dominion over nature, the social upheavals of the agricultural world are translated onto canvas or represented as models in sculpture, domestic animals take on a very specific allegorical and symbolic value. Starting from the 18th century, horse racing became one of the favorite and most profitable sports of High Society, many artists were fascinated by the equestrian world that had long been observed and studied within the prestigious properties intended for the breeding of English Thoroughbreds. The horse was chosen as the absolute protagonist of Anglo-Saxon social reality, the very large Herring family, entirely devoted to Animalier painting, also dedicated itself to work horses mainly used in the countryside or as a means of transport. The painting in fact represents two horses, one with a dark bay coat and one with a gray coat in a relaxed pose, with the neck worn low and looking towards other animals that populate the courtyard of the cottage, in the foreground some English Saddleback pigs (black piebalds) lying near the rough wooden manger and in the background a group of hens intent on scratching. John Frederick Herring JR was considered more of a painter of atmospheres, compared to his father he dedicated himself less to the truthful realism of the subjects depicted but with his works he wanted to bring to light a cross-section of typically English social life at the end of the 19th century, imbued with nostalgia for the slow and muffled rhythms that the countryside offers compared to the frenzy of the constantly evolving city now projected towards mechanization. Many works are exhibited in the main English museums, at the Royal Academy and in private collections.