A Bear Seen from Behind

Although he began his career as a portrait painter, Oudry quickly became a specialist in still life and animal painting. The artist often represented animals in dramatic and unusual compositions. Bears are traditional exemplars of strength and courage, and were often captured, either to be tamed and taught to dance, or for the cruel practice of 'bear-baiting' in which dogs would be made to attack them. Seen in this light, Oudry's bear is a reflection not only of his interest in the animal itself - seen from an unusual, and intimate, vantage point - but also of the eighteenth-century interest in the relationship between man and nature.