Wounded Stag and Dog

Wounded Stag and Dog (1825) dates from Landseer's very early maturity — he was born in 1802, making him only twenty-three in 1825 — yet already demonstrates the authority over Highland animal subjects that would define his career. The Art Institute of Chicago holds this canvas in its British art collection. The wounded stag type was central to Landseer's repertoire: it combined Romantic pathos about animal suffering with the drama of the hunt's aftermath, and his repeated treatment of it over decades shows his sustained fascination with the moment when wild and domestic — the stag and the dog — meet across the barrier of the hunt. The early date makes this a benchmark work: showing what Landseer could already do before any of his mature period's refinements.

Canvas with the remarkable technical precocity that characterized Landseer's early work. By 1825 he had already developed his ability to render deer anatomy and coat texture with adult authority. The dog figure introduces the second animal type with different fur quality and posture — two distinct textural challenges managed with confidence.