Józef Chełmoński's Wildlife Paintings

Józef Chełmoński (Polish 1849 -1914) studied in Paris and exhibited in the Salon. But after a decade in France, he returned to his homeland in Poland. 

He used his academic skills to paint evocative scenes of the people and the wildlife that he was familiar with. 

One of his best loved paintings shows a group of partridges struggling against the wind, surrounded by the bleak, infinite whiteness of the snow and sky. 

Józef Chełmoński, Partridges, 1891, oil on canvas, National Museum, Warsaw

There's no food or shelter in sight for these small, warm-blooded creatures. The image works on the literal level, but each viewer may identify with it on a figurative meanings, perhaps an expression of human struggle.

Józef Chełmoński , Partridges, detail

The details of their plumage are painted carefully, presumably from actual specimens. Chełmoński creates depth by blurring and obscuring the further individuals.

Wikipedia on Józef Chełmoński 

Images on Wikimedia