+ Expand

Dimensions: 162 by 198mm; 6 1/2 by 8in

+ Expand

Provenance: From a collection formed by a mid-19th century German opera singer;
With Galerie Arnoldi-Livie, Munich;
Acquired in 1977 by Walter Goetz, London;
Thence by descent to the present owners

+ Expand

Literature: German Bazin, Géricault, étude critique, documents et catalogue raisonné, etc., Vol. VII, Paris 1997, cat. no. 2642 (as a lost drawing)

+ Expand

Notes: This exceptionally refined yet nonetheless extremely energetic drawing served as the basis for a lithograph signed Jayler (a publisher's misprint for "Tayler") d'après Géricault, and published by Villain under the title Persan à cheval in about 1822 (fig.1). The print is one of a series of three; the other two also depict fine Arabian horses, one led by an Arab man, the other ridden at a gallop by a turbanned Turk. Bazin (loc. cit.) suggested that the print, which is in reverse to the present drawing, was based on a "lost" Géricault drawing, but in a letter of 27 October 2004, Lorenz Eitner wrote that this "..is, I believe, the original design on which "Yayler" based his print."

Throughout his career, Géricault was fascinated by horses, which he drew and painted in every pose, situation and medium (for a thorough survey of the artist's equine drawings and watercolors, see Philippe Grunchec, Géricault, Dessins et Aquarelles de Cheveaux, Lausanne 1982). Some of these drawings (such as the following lot) focus on the sculptural aspects of the animals' bodies, some, for example the studies for the Charging Chasseur, explore their movement in a more calligraphic manner, while others, particularly designs for prints such as the present work, are more concerned with the rendering of the surfaces and textures of the horses' coats. The types of horses that Géricault chose to draw were similarly varied, ranging from the great warhorses of his military subjects, through the massive, downtrodden working horses that the artist saw and drew during his stay in London, to the fine, prancing Arab stallion seen here, and in Géricault's other more exotic compositions.

The technique that the artist has used in this study is perfectly suited to the drawing's subject, and also to its function. In making his print design, he would have been seeking to capture as closely as possible the tense energy of this prancing stallion, in a manner that could be understood and effectively translated by the printmaker. This Géricault has achieved through the highly precise rendering of the patterns of light on the horse's head and hind quarters, passages of drawing which are at once meticulously detailed and yet full of movement. Had this meticulous approach been continued throughout the drawing, it might possibly have become somewhat static as a work of art in its own right, but the artist has prevented this by treating the figure of the Persian rider and the horse's forequarters in an entirely different, much freer manner. The resultant visual contrast between the different passages and styles of drawing gives the drawing an extraordinary tension, energy and intriguing appeal.