Man on Horseback, and Study of Horse's Head
19th century
Medium
Black chalk
Dimensions
8 7/16 x 11 1/8 in. (21.4 x 28.2 cm)
Classification
Drawings
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Bequest of Walter C. Baker, 1971
Accession Number
1972.118.215
Tags
Art Historical Context
Théodore Géricault *Man on Horseback, Study of Horse's Head is a captivating 19th-century drawing in black chalk, measuring just 8 7/16 x 11 1/8 inches. Housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Department of Drawings and Prints, intimate sheet—bequeathed by Walter C. Baker in1971—showcases Géricault's masterful command of the human and equine form. The composition juxtaposes a dynamic rider astride a powerful horse with a detailed close-up study of the animal's head, highlighting the artist's keen observation of anatomy and movement. As a leading figure in French Romanticism, Géricault was ...
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...