The cosmopolitan and artist Carl Fredrik Kiörboe had a solid and close relationship with animals and rural life. His uncle, S. A. Norling, was the chief director at the Veterinary Institute in Stockholm and the publisher of the Journal for Horse Friends and Farmers. Kiörboe, who was born in Denmark but grew up in Hamburg and Holland, moved in with his uncle as a young adult and received private instruction in animal anatomy and veterinary science from him. At the same time, Kiörboe was encouraged to develop the talent for drawing and painting that his uncle quickly discovered in him. In 1828, Kiörboe graduated as a regimental horse doctor. He then took a position in the Jämtland Horse Jäger Squadron, where he advanced to lieutenant and received the title of riding master in 1837. The following year, he began a study trip to Berlin, and two years later moved to Paris with the intention of pursuing a career as an artist. Until then, he had lacked formal education in the arts, but he had already established himself as a draughtsman and illustrator in various publications. In addition to horse portraits for his uncle's aforementioned journal, he produced lithographic animal portraits for the Quarterly Journal for Agriculture and Animal Husbandry, published in Lund from 1836 to 1841. After Carl Fredrik Kiörboe arrived in Paris, he devoted himself wholeheartedly to his artistic career and also took painting lessons from a Dutch artist. Initially, he lacked connections, and his career progressed rather slowly, but after he married a wealthy widow in 1846 and Frenchified his name to Corbeau, he found it increasingly easier to sell his art. In 1856, he even had the honour of painting Emperor Napoleon III on horseback, as well as a portrait of Empress Eugenie as a horsewoman. Subjects featuring horses remained Kiörboe's forte throughout his life, but he also produced a large number of dog portraits, hunting scenes, and motifs with foxes in all conceivable forms. Kiörboe returned to Sweden only twice for short visits in 1860 and 1864, but he regularly participated in exhibitions in his homeland, including at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts. As early as 1858, he had been appointed a member of the academy, and later, after he painted a portrait of King Charles XV of Sweden on horseback during his visit to Sweden in 1860 (now in the collections at Gripsholm), he was also appointed court painter to the Swedish court. In Paris, Kiörboe was a prolific exhibitor at the Salon, where he received medals in 1844 and 1846 for Stag Hunting and Fox Caught in the Snare, respectively. He was also represented at several exhibitions in London, at the World Exposition in Paris in 1855, and at the Scandinavian Exhibition in Stockholm in 1866. In the later years of his life, Kiörboe lived with relatives in the city of Dijon. He had taken refuge there after his wealthy wife passed away and his home in Paris was destroyed during the Franco-Prussian War of 1870. Despite limited finances and declining health, Kiörboe continued with his animal painting until the end. Horses, dogs, and foxes remained his ever-beloved models. The current Hunting Dogs on Duck Hunt is a fine and highly representative example of Carl Fredrik Kiörboe's animal painting. Here, he has depicted two hunting dogs surrounded by reeds in a wetland landscape. The nearest dog has its gaze firmly fixed on its master/hunter/artist, as if expecting a pat on the head and praise after it has so skillfully retrieved the recently shot duck. The other dog turns away from the viewer, its body tense and its sensitive nose still sniffing the air for more possible prey.