Bazadaise Bull, French Cattle Chromolithograph by Olivier de Penne, 1863

This is an original antique chromolithograph, printed in color from several lithographic stones, from Victor Borie's Animaux de la Ferme, Espèce Bovine, published in Paris about 1863. The plate is lettered "RACE BAZADAISE, TAUREAU." (Bazadaise breed, bull). The bull stands in full profile facing the viewer's left, a heavy, deep bodied animal with a brownish gray coat mottled with darker dappling across the shoulder and flank. He has a pale muzzle, a short pale horn curving forward from the poll, a dark tail switch and a pronounced dewlap, and he casts a long shadow across a sandy yellow foreground with a band of gray distance behind.

Above the image, the plate is headed Animaux de la Ferme, Espèce Bovine (Farm Animals, Cattle), with the imprint "Lib. Agricole de la Maison Rustique, rue Jacob, 26, à Paris." at left (the agricultural bookshop of the Maison Rustique), and "par Victor Borie" (by Victor Borie) at right. Below the image, the artist's credit reads "O. de Penne del" and the printer's line reads "Imp. Zanote, rue, des Boulangers, 13, Paris." (printed by Zanote, rue des Boulangers, Paris). The abbreviation stands for delineavit, drew it. The artist's signature, Ol. de Penne, is also drawn into the image at lower left. The artist is the French animal painter Charles Olivier de Penne (1831 to 1897).

The Bazadaise takes its name from Bazas, in the Gironde in southwestern France, and was valued as a working and beef animal. Borie's album sets out the cattle of France alongside British and other foreign breeds, each animal shown in profile on a plain ground so that build, coat and horns can be compared. It was issued by the Librairie Agricole de la Maison Rustique, the Paris publisher of agricultural books.

The clear profile and warm palette suit a kitchen, study or country house, alone or with other plates from the series.

This is an original antique print, not a modern reproduction. This item is sold unframed.