Horsewoman
1820 or later
Medium
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
17 1/2 x 13 3/4 in. (44.5 x 34.9 cm)
Classification
Paintings
Department
European Paintings
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Bequest of Mrs. Charles Wrightsman in honor of Mercedes Bass, 2019
Accession Number
2019.141.11
Tags
Art Historical Context
Théodore Géricault *Horsewoman*, an oil on canvas painted in 1820 or later, captures the raw energy and elegance of a woman astride her mount. This intimate portrait, measuring just 17½ × 13¾ inches (44.5 × 34.9 cm), entered the Metropolitan Museum of Art 2019 through the bequest of Mrs. Charlessman in honor of Bass. Géricault1791–1824), a pioneer of French Romanticism, obsessed with horses, portraying them with anatomical precision and dramatic vitality in works that celebrated human emotion and nature's power. The small scale and oil medium highlight Géricault's virtuoso technique, allowing...
About the Artist
Théodore Gericault · 1791–1824
Théodore Géricault, born Jean-Louis André Théodore Géricault on September 26, 1791, in Rouen, France, into a prosperous family—his father a lawyer turned tobacco merchant and his mother from a line of growers—moved to Paris around 1797. Displaying early artistic promise, recognized by painter Jean-Louis Laneuville, he began formal training in 1808 under Carle Vernet, mastering English sporting art...