Twee jagers schieten op patrijzen 1831 - 1846

François Grenier made this print of two hunters shooting at partridges, sometime in the mid-19th century. It is a lithograph, a printmaking technique that relies on the subtle chemistry between grease and water on a flat stone surface. Lithography made color printing more accessible, contributing to a boom in commercial images, like this one. The skilled handiwork involved in the drawing and printing process is evident, from the fine details of the hunters’ clothing to the soft gradations of the landscape. But lithography also involved teamwork, and a division of labor. It required the work of draughtsmen, printers, and publishers - often operating in highly competitive markets. This print provides a glimpse into the culture of hunting as leisure, but also into the industrializing world of image production. By attending to both, we can see how aesthetics and economics are always intertwined.