Chanticleer and the Fox, by William J. Webb(e) (1830-1912[?]). 1857. Oil on canvas; 36 ¼ x 36 ¼ inches. Private collection. Image courtesy of Christie's. Not to be downloaded; right click disabled.
Webb exhibited this picture at the Royal Manchester Institution, Exhibition of the Works of Modern Artists, in 1858, no. 135. The handling of this early work echoes Allen Staley's comments on two of Webb(e)'s works that date from 1854-55 as showing "Pre-Raphaelite elaboration of microscopic foreground detail pushed to an almost insane extreme" (89).
The fable of Chanticleer the rooster and the fox is derived from Chaucer's "The Nun's Priest Tale" in The Canterbury Tales written about 1390. Chaucer was a popular author with the Pre-Raphaelites, particularly William Morris and Edward Burne-Jones. The story is about an elderly widow and her two daughters who live a simple life in a cottage with a few possessions including the cockerel Chanticleer and seven hens. In all the land Chanticleer has no peer for crowing. One morning Chanticleer spots a large fox who has got into the farmyard and is hiding in the cabbage patch. The sly fox tells the cockerel he is his friend and compliments Chanticleer on his fine singing voice, thereby earning the rooster's trust through flattery. Chanticleer responds immediately by beating his wings with pride, and standing on his toes stretches his neck, closes his eyes, and crows loudly. The fox reaches out and grabs Chanticleer by the throat, and then proceeds to slink away with him back toward the woods. Fortunately for the cockerel his hens raise the alarm and the fox is soon pursued by the widow and her dogs. Chanticleer cleverly suggests that the fox should turn and boast of his success to his pursuers, and as soon as the fox opens his mouth Chanticleer escapes by taking flight into the trees. The moral of Chaucer's story is to never trust a flatterer.
When this picture came up for sale at Christie's in 2019 their experts had these comments on the work:
Webb's meticulously detailed rendition of the tale depicts the moment before the fox strikes, as the handsome Chanticleer stretches out his neck and begins to sing. His adversary is hidden amongst vibrant cabbages, lettuces, dandelions and other foliage outlined in shades of verdant green, each leaf and stem exquisitely rendered in true Pre-Raphaelite detail. Further colour is injected by the pink foxgloves on the right, the orange fur of the fox and the cockerel's scarlet beak. In 1857 when the picture was painted Webb was living at Niton on the Isle of Wight, and the accuracy with which he has shown the cottage garden with its vegetable patch, beehives and wattled fence and the rolling hills beyond implies that the tableau was inspired by the countryside and villages around Niton.
Bibliography
British Art: Victorian, Pre-Raphaelite and British Impressionist Art. London: Christie's (12 December 2019): lot 141.
Staley, Allen. The Pre-Raphaelite Landscape. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1973.
Created 31 May 2025