DISCOVERART

Johann Christian Reinhart

Feeding Mule - Front, from Die Zweite Thierfolge

1800
Etching in black on ivory laid paper
14.6 × 10.8 cm (5.7 × 4.3 in)

SEE IT IN PERSON

Not currently on view

In the collection of Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago · as of July 2026

View at artic.edu ↗Plan a visit ↗

Discussion

FROM THE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO’S CATALOG

One of Reinhart’s rare departures from a lifelong focus on landscapes, this realistic pair of etchings (2013.439–440) depicts two views of a single mule standing in the Italian countryside. The mule’s dual positioning possibly alludes to Renaissance-era studies of the female nude. Thus the mule becomes not just a prop in a landscape, but the artwork’s protagonist, a carefully studied figure atop a familiarly bucolic ground.

Source ↗

Be the first to share your thoughts.

Sign in to join the discussion.

Community guidelines

More by Johann Christian Reinhart

Arcadian Landscape with Three Figures at a LakeArcadian Landscape with Three Figures at a LakeItalian Landscape with Trees, Rocks and a Resting DeerItalian Landscape with Trees, Rocks and a Resting DeerHeroic Landscape: Landscape with Town and RiverHeroic Landscape: Landscape with Town and RiverHeroic Landscape: The Shepherd's Dance on the BridgeHeroic Landscape: The Shepherd's Dance on the BridgeRocky Landscape with HuntersRocky Landscape with HuntersHeroic Landscape: Cattle Crossing the RiverHeroic Landscape: Cattle Crossing the RiverHeroic Landscape: Landscape with the Temptation of ChristHeroic Landscape: Landscape with the Temptation of ChristRocky Landscape with Pan Playing His Flute (In the Park of the Villa Chigi, Ariccia)Rocky Landscape with Pan Playing His Flute (In the Park of t

More like this

A DonkeyAdriaen van de Velde|Karel Dujardin — A DonkeyPlate 7: Bertoldino lying on a donkey, from "Bertoldo, Bertoldino, and Cacasenno"Giuseppe Maria Crespi — Plate 7: Bertoldino lying on a donkeTwo mules bearing panniers and outfitted with blinders, plumes, and tassels; one mule in three-quarter view and behind it a mule in frontal view; beyond a man mounted on a horse directs mules with a rodKarel Dujardin — Two mules bearing panniers and outfitted wiSaddle HorsePieter van Bloemen — Saddle HorsePlate 19: Cacasenno riding a horse backwards, from "Bertoldo, Bertoldino, and Cacasenno"Giuseppe Maria Crespi — Plate 19: Cacasenno riding a horse bMan playing drums on horsebackFrancesco Casanova — Man playing drums on horsebackTwo donkeys standing in a grassy yard, one in profile view facing right and another behind in three-quarter view, a dog and a building wall with two windows beyondKarel Dujardin — Two donkeys standing in a grassy yard, one DonkeyJacopo Bassano (Jacopo da Ponte)|Wenceslaus Hollar — DonkeyA horseman in profile walking to the left, two horsemen duel with pistols in the background, from 'Various cavalry exercises' (Diverses exercices de cavalerie)Stefano della Bella|Israël Henriet — A horseman in profile wLe Paysan Frappant son Ane (The Peasant Striking his Donkey), from Lux Claustri ou La Lumière du Cloitre (The Light of the Cloisters), plate 25Jacques Callot|François Langlois — Le Paysan Frappant son AnPolish HorsemanStefano della Bella — Polish HorsemanMarket Woman on HorsebackChristian Rugendas — Market Woman on Horseback