Cockfight in Flanders | Rémy Cogghe | 1889

Rémy Cogghe’s 1889 Cockfight in Flanders (Combat de coqs en Flandre) is a large oil-on-canvas genre scene that vividly captures the raw energy and spectator fervor of a traditional cockfight, a popular rural pastime in Flanders in the late 19th century. Painted with naturalistic attention to detail and expressive movement, the work places viewers amidst a crowded, animated gathering where figures lean and gesture in anticipation as the birds clash at the center of the composition, reflecting not only the brutality of the sport itself but also the social dynamics and communal excitement of popular entertainment in a provincial setting. The earthy color palette and dynamic arrangement underscore both the physicality of the event and its role as a focal point of local culture, situating Cogghe as a keen observer of everyday life and leisure in his adopted French Flanders. Cockfight in Flanders is held at the Musée d’Art et d’Industrie La Piscine in Roubaix, France.