Briton Riviere

Beyond Man’s Footsteps

exhibited 1894

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In Tate Britain

Walk Through British Art: 1890

Free entry

Artist: Briton Riviere 1840–1920
Medium: Oil paint on canvas
Dimensions: Support: 1190 x 1845 mm
frame: 1590 x 2255 x 150 mm
Collection: Tate
Acquisition: Presented by the Trustees of the Chantrey Bequest 1894
Reference: N01577

Display caption

The animal painter Briton Rivière was interested in Charles Darwin’s ideas on evolution and the relationship of animals to humans. Beyond Man’s Footsteps represents the Arctic as a place of extreme and sublime beauty. Humans are, as yet, nowhere to be seen and the polar bear reigns. Rivière did not visit the region, and based his painting on a captive bear in London Zoo and on dramatic written accounts of Arctic explorers.

Gallery label, January 2019

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