Rabbit

Pet rabbits seem to have a long history in RE's family so it is not surprising that one of his early models was his Flemish Giant, Big Ben weighing 10 lb. Richard would have known of the daguerrotype below of his grandfather as a boy with a rabbit on his lap. His grandfather, Carl Richard Eurich (1839-1902), was 11 years old when the picture was taken in 1850.

Rabbits continued giving Richard inspiration. See the sketches below done in 1922. The theme of rabbits comes up again in one of the pictures done for his debut solo show at the …

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Pet rabbits seem to have a long history in RE's family so it is not surprising that one of his early models was his Flemish Giant, Big Ben weighing 10 lb. Richard would have known of the daguerrotype below of his grandfather as a boy with a rabbit on his lap. His grandfather, Carl Richard Eurich (1839-1902), was 11 years old when the picture was taken in 1850.

Rabbits continued giving Richard inspiration. See the sketches below done in 1922. The theme of rabbits comes up again in one of the pictures done for his debut solo show at the Goupil Gallery in 1929 - Rabbiting by the River .

Also below is the painted sketch of the figure on the back of the Rabbit painting.

The story of finding Big Ben:
My sisters had made friends with a corn merchant who bred rabbits and one day they came home with tales about a Flemish Giant buck which he possessed which was six months old. So next time they went along with the excuse of purchasing a few pounds of bran I went with them. We entered the large room behind the shop, lined with hutches, and the door of a hutch on the floor was opened and we were told to wait quietly as the animal was nervous. After a moment there was a terrific …

read more..

The story of finding Big Ben:
My sisters had made friends with a corn merchant who bred rabbits and one day they came home with tales about a Flemish Giant buck which he possessed which was six months old. So next time they went along with the excuse of purchasing a few pounds of bran I went with them. We entered the large room behind the shop, lined with hutches, and the door of a hutch on the floor was opened and we were told to wait quietly as the animal was nervous. After a moment there was a terrific thud which startled us. It was only the buck stamping! And then a large blunt nose appeared out of the gloom, two enormous ears then came forward turning this way and that and at last the Flemish buck with broad paws like a puppy, came out and had a look round. I had never seen anything like it and fell in love there and then with this magnificent animal. The corn merchant was asking a pound for him. It was a huge sum of money and none of us had ever possessed so much.

More in the autobiography.