Equine art or the horse in art, the most represented animal since Prehistory, and one of the oldest artistic subjects. It appears on all types of media over time, most often in the middle of battles, in individual works, as a mount of important people, or coupled to horse-drawn vehicles. Greek art shows a real anatomical research, while the Middle Ages leaves little room for it. The Renaissance, especially Italian, sees the apogee of the equestrian statue, become a genre in its own right.
Horses have appeared in works of art throughout history, frequently as depictions of the horse in battle. The horse appears less frequently in modern art partly because the horse is no longer significant either as a mode of transportation or as an implement of war. Most modern representations are of famous contemporary horses, artwork associated with horse racing, or artwork associated with the historic cowboy or Native American tradition of the American west. In the United Kingdom depictions of fox hunting and nostalgic rural scenes involving horses continue to be made.
The equestrian portrait acquires its rules from the Baroque period. Representations of naked horses are infrequent until the arrival of Flemish landscape painters, especially Englishman George Stubbs, the “painter of the horse”, considered one of the greatest connoisseurs of the subject to date. The nineteenth century saw an important artistic production, with Alfred de Dreux, Théodore Géricault or Eugène Delacroix in France, Yevgeny Alexandrovich Lanceray in Russia, and the American Frederic Remington. Despite its utilitarian disappearance in the twentieth century, the horse remains present in the art thanks to many modern, including Pablo Picasso, Leon Schwarz-Abrys, Franz Marc, and Maurizio Cattelan at the beginning of the twenty-first century.
Different artistic themes are the occasion to put the horse on the stage, beyond the military representations, the equestrian portrait and the equestrian statue, the fascination for the horse races, the Arabian horse, the hunt with the hunt and the American west. gave rise to representations of horses.
Horses often appear in artworks singly, as a mount for an important person, or in teams, hitched to a variety of horse-drawn vehicles.
The art of the Contemporary Age began with the opposite tendencies of academicism and romanticism, which probably marked the culminating point of the equine representations within the realistic convention; while the avant-garde art of the twentieth century continued to represent the horse, but under its own conventions.
History
Equine art is as old as art itself, since there are representations of horses already in the Paleolithic rock art and in the ancient art of all civilizations, except in the pre-Columbian Americas, since the horses were introduced there by the Spanish in the sixteenth century.
Prehistoric hill figures have been carved in the shape of the horse, specifically the Uffington White Horse, an example of the tradition of horse carvings upon hill-sides, which having existed for thousands of years continues into the current age.
The equine image was common in ancient Egyptian and Grecian art, more refined images displaying greater knowledge of equine anatomy appeared in Classical Greece and in later Roman work. Horse-drawn chariots were commonly depicted in ancient works, for example on the Standard of Ur circa 2500BC. The Horses of Saint Mark are the sole surviving example from Classical Antiquity of a monumental statue of the Quadriga.
In Chinese art Han Gan stood out as a painter of horses of the Tang dynasty. The legendary celestial horses or horses of Ferghana, imported from Central Asia, were highly represented in Chinese ceramics, and Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor, had a terracotta army in his tomb, of which numerous horses were also part.
The horse was less prevalent in early Christian and Byzantine art, overwhelmed by the dominance of religious themes.
The equine art of the ancient Mediterranean civilizations had a particular development. Greco-Roman civilization was particularly important from ceramics and sculpture of the Archaic period, with examples as important as the numerous horses of the Parthenon , such as the Quirinale Dióscuros and those of the Capitol, were drastically restored.
The equestrian representations in medieval art, although not infrequent, abandoned the classical tradition, which was not recovered until the Italian Renaissance, with the condottiers of Donatello and Verrocchio. The horses of the Battle start to a revitalized pictorial tradition that developed throughout the art of the Modern Age.
The Renaissance period starting in the 14th century brought a resurgence of the horse in art. Painters of this period who portrayed the horse included Paolo Uccello, Benozzo Gozzoli, Leonardo da Vinci, Albrecht Dürer, Raphael, Andrea Mantegna and Titian. In 1482 the Duke of Milan Ludovico il Moro, commissioned Leonardo da Vinci to create the largest equestrian statue in the world, a monument to the duke’s father Francesco, however Leonardo’s horse was never completed, (until it was replicated in the late 20th century).
In the Baroque era the tradition of equine portraiture was established, with artists such as Peter Paul Rubens, Anthony van Dyck and Diego Velázquez portraying regal subjects atop their mounts. Equine sporting art also became established in this era as the tradition of horse racing emerged under Tudor patronage.
The mid 18th century saw the emergence of Romanticism, French artists Théodore Géricault and Eugène Delacroix were proponents of this movement and both portrayed the horse in many of their works.
George Stubbs born in 1724 became so associated with his equestrian subjects that he was known as “the horse painter”. A childhood interest in anatomy was applied to the horse he spent eighteen months dissecting equine carcasses and had an engraver produce book plates of his studies. These anatomical drawings aided later artists.
Equine sporting art was popular in the 19th century, notable artists of the period being Benjamin Marshall, James Ward, Henry Thomas Alken, James Pollard and John Frederick Herring, Sr.. Horse racing gradually became more established in France and Impressionist painter Edgar Degas painted many early racing scenes. Degas was one of the first horse painters to use photographic references. Eadweard Muybridge’s photographic studies of animal motion had a huge influence on equine art as they allowed artists greater understanding of the horses gaits.
In addition to the sculptural equestrian portrait and pictorial, even the theme of the horse as an exclusive representation or artistic motif in itself emerged, reached the specialization and professional estimation of the “horse painters” had already been reflected by competition between two of them to whom the portrait of two horses is commissioned; while one focuses on anatomical representation, another is recreated in the details of the scene and not in the body of the animal.
Equine art genres
The horse has long been considered a minor subject in art, and artists are unlikely to attract the attention of academies or museums by choosing it. To find the right attitude of the horse and the rider, especially in painting, it is often necessary to be a rider yourself. Most painters have no equestrian practice.
The representations of horses are especially intended to enhance the power of those who ride them. This function is very visible in the abundant equestrian statuary, from the equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelius to that of Peter the Great, where the horse highlights a warrior or a man of power, and especially in the quadriga of Saint-Marc.
Western kings often command their own equestrian statue or portrait: the horse’s back acts as a throne and enhances their qualities of goodness, majesty, and sovereign power. The horse representation with a raised fore member is that of the royal authority ready to hit the opponents. The white horse is the most popular in this role, that of Henri IV of France is probably no stranger: it “attracts attention and focuses attention.” In addition, the symbolic of the white dress is more loaded than in horses of other colors. During the political turmoil, the destruction of the depictions of kings on horseback is worthy of contestation.
The equestrian statue
The equestrian statue represents an important figure mounted on a horse. The technology of medieval armament is very largely devoted to it, it is symbolic of feudalism and warrior aristocracy. Donatello, Verrocchio and Leonardo da Vinci brought the equestrian statuary to perfection. Many preparatory studies are essential to the manufacture of these monumental equestrian statues, the artists must be experts in anatomy and science of equine movement. Leonard is particularly involved in this research as evidenced by the many drawings he has bequeathed.
The horserider portrait
From the middle of the fifteenth century, the portrait on horseback becomes a pictorial genre in its own right. From Francis I to Napoleon Bonaparte, even if fashion and style evolve over time, the political message is the same. This symbolism of the power of man and his mount does not end with the abolition of the monarchy: in the nineteenth century, when the rising bourgeoisie opposes the nobility, it is still on horseback that she loves see his portrait in the alleys of the Bois de Boulogne. The beautiful amazons of Alfred de Dreux and the dandies in la Maupassant no longer ride the round Spanish horses of Antoine de Pluvinel or La Guérinière, but English thoroughbreds carved for speed, or Arabs.
The horse portrait
Animal painting is long considered a minor genre. The horse is rarely painted for himself because the artists need orders to live, and if the rich seekers like to be represented on horseback, they rarely make portraits of their horses alone. Few painters devote themselves entirely to the naked horse.
In the seventeenth century, Paulus Potter made a painting in which a small horse with a spotted robe casts a keen eye on him who observes it. A century later, the Englishman George Stubbs dedicates his life to the horse and his painting. Unlike most artists of his time, he has only a mediocre artistic training, but he has a taste for science: in 1776, he publishes an Anatomy of the horse.
In the nineteenth century, the masters of romantic painting Géricault and Delacroix are more esteemed for their historical paintings than for the many tributes they pay to the horse.
Equine art theme
Military and war
Military art often depicts the horse in battle and provides some of the earliest examples of the horse in art, with cavalry, horse-drawn chariots and horse archers all appearing on ancient artifacts.
In the medieval period cavalry battles and knights on horseback were portrayed by artists including Paolo Uccello and Albrecht Dürer. Uccello’s tryptic The Battle of San Romano shows various stages of a battle. Dürer’s engraving of “Knight, Death and the Devil”, 1513 shows a military subject combined with allegorical theme.
Sir Alfred Munnings was appointed as a war artist during World War I, he painted both the Canadian Cavalry Brigade and the Canadian Forestry Corps stationed in France. He considered his experiences with the Canadian units to have been among the most rewarding events of his life.
Elizabeth Thompson, known as Lady Butler, was famed for her military art, especially “Scotland Forever” featuring a dramatic charge by the Royal Scots Greys.
Horse racing
Thoroughbred racing was an inspiration for Romantic and Impressionist artists of the 19th century. Théodore Géricault painted The Derby in 1821 during his stay in England. The Impressionist era coincided with the development of racing in France, Manet, Degas and Toulouse-Lautrec all acquired a lasting fascination with racing. Manet showing the excitement and action of the race and Degas concentrating more on the moments before the start. Degas was intensely interested in Muybridge’s photographs of the horse in motion, he copied them in chalk and pencil and used them for reference in his later work.
Generations of artists before Muybridge had portrayed the horse in a ‘rocking horse’ gallop with the horse portrayed with both front legs extended forward and both hind legs extended rearwards. Much more realistic representations were possible after the event of photography and Muybridge’s work but that did not necessarily lead to the impression of movement in the artwork. Luard writing in 1921 compares the running action of an animal with the run and rhythm of an air in music, but the instantaneous moment recorded by a photograph as a detached chord with little meaning or context.
In the 20th century, much of the artwork by John Skeaping involved the racing scene, including life-size bronzes of Hyperion and Brigadier Gerard and watercolours of race course action.
Equestrian Arabomania
Adorned with all the qualities, noble, valiant, fiery, enduring and fast, put forward by Napoleon I, who loves only him, the little Arab horse inspires a generation of artists such as Eugène Delacroix, Théodore Chassériau and Eugène Fromentin , but also, and especially, Theodore Géricault.
The American West
Artwork associated with the historic cowboy or Native American tradition of the American west naturally includes many equine subjects. Artists of the American West include Frederic Remington and C.M. Russell who are known for their paintings of equine subjects. Remington was one of the first American artists to illustrate the true gait of the horse in motion (along with Thomas Eakins), as validated by the famous sequential photographs of Eadweard Muybridge. Remington also captured equine drama in his bronze sculptures, his first, Bronco Buster (Williams College Museum of Art), was a critical and commercial success.
Modern art
Inspired by El Greco’s, Saint Martin and the Beggar, c. 1597–1600, Art Institute of Chicago Pablo Picasso introduced horses into his work in 1905-06 notably Boy Leading a Horse, Museum of Modern Art. Franz Marc and others including Susan Rothenberg and Deborah Butterfield beginning in the 1970s used horses as motifs in their paintings and sculpture throughout the 20th century. For a large and complex 20th century war painting in which a horse is the central dramatic figure, see Guernica by Pablo Picasso. While Impressionist painter Edgar Degas was particularly famous for his paintings of dancers, Degas was also known for his paintings of horses and horse racing.
Hunting
Hunting scenes have been a common subject matter for equestrian painters. Specialists in fox hunting subjects include Cecil Aldin and Lionel Edwards.
Hunting scenes begin to spread from the late Middle Ages in France, and in the sixteenth century, they can heal the representation of horses. It is in England that they know their greater popularity.
Bullfighting
The scenes carried out by horses are abundant in the plastic representations of the bullfighting, especially the picadores and the rejoneo. In addition, outside the bullring, the appearance of the horse is consubstantial to the scenes of grazing bulls in the field, the evidence of harassment and demolition and other bullfighting events.
The opposition of the figures of the bull and the horse has a particular visual force and deep symbolic meanings, valued by some painters such as Goya or Picasso.
Rural working life
Lucy Kemp-Welch was well known for her depiction of wild and working horses in the landscape.
Influence
In photography
Before the photographic work of Eadweard Muybridge (a famous series of sequences of photographs, precedents of cinematography, that reconstruct the step, the trot, the gallop and the jump, and they were published in National Geographic in October of 1878 with instructions to mount them in a zoetrope), the representation of the horse in motion depended on widespread conventions, based on erroneous perceptions, which for the purposes of more dynamism resorted to extending the two forward limbs forward and the two hind limbs backwards, in a posture similar to wooden horse105 of the infantile games.
Degas and Manet became interested in these photographs, copied them and used them as references in their later work. Also inspired by Muybridge’s photographs, Frederic Remington and Thomas Eakins, American painters, were among the first to fully reflect the movement. of the horse in painting.
In cinema
The appearance of true cinema, since 1895, gave opportunity for a new way of reflecting the horse in art. Some film genres, such as the western or historical cinema, are particularly prone to this.
Regardless of the genre, some memorable scenes of great films focus on horses, such as the October bridge scene by Sergei Eisenstein, honored (in terms of the use of the horse as a visual metaphor) by Costa Gavras in Disappeared.
It has been pointed out that the scene of runaway horses of Farewell to Arms (1932 film), by Frank Borzage, provided Picasso with the inspiration for the Guernica horse (1937) .