Especially impressive are her large so-called bat-l’eau centerpieces showing the stag or boar taking refuge in the water, intently pursued by the hounds. Their cleverly submerged chests emerge from the textured bronze or ingeniously employed mirrors. Such pieces were originally conceived as surtout de table, awe-inspiring table decorations intended to stun blasé guests. Noël pays homage in her work to Thomas Germain (1673–1748), silversmith to royalty, including the King of Portugal, which means many of his works were lost in the 1755 Lisbon earthquake. His remarkable, 24-kilo hunting themed surtout at the Louvre shows a seated hunting dog surrounded by the day’s bag of game, along with the hunting horn that brought him home. (collections.louvre.fr/en/ark:/53355/cl010104931.)
Oil painter and sculptress, equestrian and huntress, Catherine Farvacques (b. 1963) also speaks of the forest here, its horses racing to the cry of horns and hounds, the way forward to the stag or boar directed by the muscular French Tricolor Hounds. An active member of the hunting community, the artist can draw on the estate’s shipshape kennel of 150 hounds, including some 30 new puppies each year. Trained to work in packs of 30, you can see the dogs in all their glory on YouTube; search “Visite de chenil – Equipage de la Hardouinais.”
For her paintings of hounds, Farvacques balances their group action with the composition of their colors, the whirl of strongly contrasting blocks of black, louvard, and bay of each dog’s unique coat fitting together like a puzzle. She builds the canvas’s narrative out of the breed’s telling eyes, talking ears, and musical tails. Known also for her paintings of horses and bullfighting, as well as her bronzes, go to: www.catherine-farvacques.com
L’Auberge Ar Duen, facing the attractive Saint-Léonore church and its enormous 13th-century yew tree, with its forest and ponds in Le Domaine de la Hardouinais, offers real comfort and pleasure. To see for yourself what all this means not only for the traveler, but for the entire community—and for Brittany itself—go to: www.youtube.com/watch?v=9T_Zm5JIe2Y
As Brooke’s new tee-shirt reads: “Perak deskiñ amerikaneg? warc’hoazh e vo komzet brezhoneg gant ar bed a-bezh!” Why learn American? when tomorrow the entire world will speak Breton.
