Hunting in the Pontine Marshes

Hunting in the Pontine Marshes by Horace Vernet is a horizontal landscape painting depicting a dramatic forest scene near water. A fallen, ash-white tree trunk diagonally spans the composition, having broken a neighboring tree’s branch. In the lower right, two men and a dog occupy a small boat. One man stands poised with a pole, while another aims a rifle into the forest, wearing a green jacket and slate-blue pants. The dog, white with brown spots, stands alert at the boat’s edge. Vines grow over a broken stump, and a smooth, peanut-brown water surface reflects the surrounding vegetation. A patch of blue sky with white clouds completes the scene.