"Bellowing of the stag"

The red deer (Cervus elaphus) is the largest deer in Europe. In September and October, the male enters the rut and 'bells' — a bellow that carries for several kilometres, a signal of attraction for the hinds and of warning for rivals.

The head thrown back, the throat open, the tines raised above: this is the bellow at its moment of greatest charge in the deer's whole life. The jaw wide open, the eye turned upward — everything speaks the physiological tension of this call. The pencil concentrates its work on the head and chest, letting the background dissolve, so that nothing distracts attention from this moment of raw power.