European WildlifeContemporary Wildlife Art
Red deer, roe deer, wild boar, hares, foxes, woodcock: European wildlife is the kind we think we already know. Although Africa takes up most of his work, Stéphane Alsac regularly returns to the animals of French forests and farmland, painting them with the same care he brings to the great cats, in oil on linen canvas: the light in a woodland clearing, the tension of a chase, the dignity of a roebuck.
This collection brings together original paintings, their numbered and signed limited canvas editions, and watercolours, pencil sketches and prints. Works at home in a mountain chalet, a country house or a contemporary interior.
In the field
These paintings often begin a few miles from the studio. For “Unfaithful”, Stéphane Alsac followed the red deer rut in the north of the Médoc, in the early autumn mornings. A film crew followed him for six months: the 52-minute documentary by David Flacard and Laurent Buchemeyer for the Seasons channel traces the painting’s whole creation, from the first observations to its unveiling at the Game Fair in Lamotte-Beuvron.
The animals in the collection
The roe deer holds a special place. Since childhood, every sighting by the roadside has delighted him, a fascination inherited from a grandfather who would stop everything to watch a roe deer step out of the woods. “El Magnifico” is his most accomplished portrait of it, while “Spirit of the Field” shows a roebuck barely emerging from a summer wheat field.
The red deer is painted at the height of the rut. In “Unfaithful”, it overflows the frame, mouth open, its breath revealed by the bluish morning light.
The wild boar belongs to winter. “Bad Lieutenant”, an old loner hunters call “the black beast”, ploughs through deep snow, while “Fight Club” captures two males in mid-duel.
Then come the hare of “Full Throttle!”, a commission, racing straight at the viewer; the fox of “My Secret”; and the woodcock of “Graceful Escape”, with the jolt anyone who walks the autumn woods knows when it bursts into flight. In “Foghorn”, an Alpine ibex seems to merge into the mountain.
Between oil and watercolour
The large canvases are painted in oil on linen in the hyperrealist tradition: fur worked hair by hair, low raking light, a background that fades away. Birds and smaller subjects, flushing woodcock and pheasants, teal or red-legged partridge, are more often rendered in watercolour or pencil, with precise plumage and a background left free.
Originals, editions and sketches
- Original painting: a unique piece in oil on linen canvas, signed. Price of each original on request.
- Canvas edition (giclee): a limited edition, numbered and hand-signed, printed from the original painting, with a certificate of authenticity. Each work remains a single original painting; only some are released as editions.
- Watercolours, sketches and prints: works on paper, original or as numbered, signed prints depending on the piece.
Frequently asked questions
Are the woodcock and pheasant pieces originals?
They are watercolours. Each artwork page shows whether the original watercolour is available or the work comes as a numbered, signed print on paper.
Can I commission a deer painting?
Yes: Stéphane Alsac accepts private commissions, see Private Commission.
Do the artworks come with a certificate of authenticity?
Yes, every original painting and every numbered fine art edition comes with a signed certificate of authenticity.