Young Hare by Albrecht Dürer

A hare sits alone on blank paper, so precisely rendered you can count the whiskers. Durer painted it in 1502 with watercolor and gouache, building the fur hair by hair over layered washes. No forest, no story, just an ordinary field animal treated with the seriousness of a saint.

Albrecht Durer, 1502. Museum-grade giclee print of the public-domain original.