Study of Pigs

Described as a "Study of Pigs," this canvas in Nottingham Museums carries its title's modest implications honestly — this is Morland working as an observer and draughtsman-in-paint, gathering visual information about his favourite animal subjects with the discipline of a naturalist. The study format was both practically and philosophically important to Morland: practically, because it provided material for larger compositions and for the engravers who needed detailed animal characterisation in his compositions; philosophically, because it positioned his work within an empiricist tradition of truth-seeking observation rather than academic idealisation. Nottingham had a strong tradition of collecting British genre painting, and this work's presence there reflects the regional appetite for Morland's direct, unpretentious manner. The study approach also explains why these animal works have retained their freshness — they were made with looking rather than selling as their primary purpose, and that quality of genuine attention survives in the paint surface.

On canvas, the study format allows Morland to focus on anatomical and textural observation without the compositional demands of a finished work. Paint handling is direct and fresh, with little sign of reworking or glazing over dry paint. The animals' forms are modelled with immediate, confident strokes, capturing the characteristic weight distribution of resting pigs and the specific quality of their pale, slightly translucent skin.