Prancing Horse
Théodore Géricault·1808–12
Historical Context
Géricault's equestrian studies emerged from his passionate engagement with horses as subjects of dynamic energy and psychological intensity, a preoccupation that distinguished him within French Romantic painting. Before his masterpiece The Raft of the Medusa (1819), Géricault developed his compositional range through studies of military horses, racing subjects, and portraits of specific animals. His handling of equine anatomy was unusually informed by direct observation, and his compositions convey the weight, tension, and muscular power of animals in motion with a vividness new to French academic painting. Followers and students emulated this approach, recognizing that Géricault had established a new standard for the horse as a vehicle of Romantic expression.
Technical Analysis
The oil on canvas captures the horse's muscular tension and dynamic movement with bold, energetic brushwork. The dark palette and dramatic lighting emphasize the powerful form of the animal against a loosely indicated landscape.
Provenance
Possibly Eugène Delacroix, Paris [according to Paris 1924 exh. cat. and Paris 1937 exh. cat.]. Probably M. Foynard, Paris [according to letter from Richard Goetz, December 14, 1937, in curatorial file for Champmartin, 1937.502, asserting that he acquired all the Géricaults he purchased in this period from Monsieur Foynard before World War I]; Richard Goetz, Paris, by 1922; sold with his sequestered property Hotel Drouot, Paris, February 23, 1922, no. 150. Édouard Napoléon César Edmond Mortier, duc de Trévise (died 1946), Paris, by 1924 until at least 1937 [see Paris 1924 exh. cat. and Paris 1937 exh. cat.]; sold by him, probably with Robert Lebel as agent, to Richard Goetz, New York [see letter from Eric Turquin, February 7, 2002, in curatorial file]. J. B. Neumann, New York by 1944; sold to the Art Institute, 1944.
