Full Cry. / The Meet. / The Death.

Title

Full Cry. / The Meet. / The Death.

Three Herring's Fox Hunting Scenes - Full Cry. - The Meet. - The Death. After Sr. John Frederick Herring, later and somewhat smaller edition published by Gustav W. Seitz, Hamburg."

ca. 1880

Artist

Herring Sr. (1795-1865)

John Frederick Herring Sr. (1795-1865) was a prominent British painter of the 19th century, often known for his works featuring horses. Before establishing himself as a successful artist, Herring worked in the city as a coach driver, which fostered his deep appreciation for horses.Herring's talent for painting became evident in his thirties. Initially, he gained recognition by painting inn signs and coach emblems, reflecting his earlier profession. However, his passion for horse subjects quickly became the central theme of his art. In 1814, Herring moved to Doncaster, near some of the most important horse races of the time. This proximity to the racecourses provided him with numerous opportunities to observe and paint horses, solidifying his reputation as a horse painter. By the 1830s, Herring had achieved significant popularity, and his works attracted the attention of the British nobility. He was appointed as the artist for the Duke of Orleans and later became the animal painter to Her Royal Highness, the Duchess of Kent. Subsequently, he received a commission from Queen Victoria, who was particularly impressed by his work. Herring's depictions of racehorses and their environments were not only highly praised artistically but also in high demand due to their accuracy and attention to detail.

Historical Description

Hunting is one of the most primitive activities in human history and is older than anatomically modern humans themselves. The oldest undisputed archaeological evidence for hunting dates from the Old Pleistocene and coincides with the emergence and spread of Homo erectus about 1.7 million years ago. Hunting enabled significant steps in human evolution through the associated need for specialization, division of labor, and advance planning among hunters, such as in the production of tools and hunting weapons. Jointly conducted hunting promoted social and communicative skills and formed one of the foundations of human culture. With the spread of sedentarization of man in the course of the Neolithic Revolution and the beginning of agriculture and animal husbandry, hunting became of secondary importance as a source of nutrition for large parts of the population. At the same time, the changed living conditions in the protection of cultivated land from game damage and the control of predators to protect livestock also resulted in new uses for hunting. In the course of time the most different kinds of hunting have developed, which are adapted to special situations or the hunting of certain animal species. There are several ways to systematize at least some of the hunting types. One of the most common classifications distinguishes according to the number of hunters involved, especially in individual and social hunting.