Hare in the Forest Hans Hoffmann Rabbit Painting Cushion

Nibbling on a leaf pulled from a stalk of Lady's Mantle, an alert hare sits at the edge of a pine forest. Unlike the darkness one would expect to find in a forest, Hans Hoffmann painted a theatrically illuminated scene. Each plant and insect--snail, cricket, beetle--is seen in vivid detail. The finely wrought leaves of the thistle, the sprawling fronds of a plantain, and the bright blue flowers of the Hare Bell attest to Hoffmann's meticulous treatment of the subject. In fact, none of these plants could have coexisted in the natural world. Hoffmann imaginatively combined numerous individual nature studies in a single painting. Primary Title: A Hare in the Forest Maker Name: Hans Hoffmann (German, about 1530 - 1591/1592) Type: Paintings Medium: Oil on panel Date: about 1585 Source: J. Paul Getty Museum