Sketches of an Equestrian Battle and the Head of a Greyhound
Medium
Graphite on cream wove paper, perimeter mounted on ivory laid paper
Dimensions
16.8 × 22.5 cm (6 5/8 × 8 7/8 in.)
Classification
drawings (visual works)
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
113382
Art Historical Context
Created around 1813–14, *Sketches of an Equestrian Battle the Head of a Grey* captures the dynamic energy of French Romantic artist Théodore Géricault his early twenties. This intimate graphite drawing on cream wove paper (16.8 × 22.5 cm) juxtaposes the chaos of mounted warriors in fierce combat with the poised intensity of a greyhound's head, showcasing Géricault's fascination with equine anatomy and dramatic action. During this period, amid the Napoleonic Wars, such equestrian reflected the era's military fervor and Géricault's own passion for horses, which he studied obsessively at Paris st...
About the Artist
Jean Louis André Théodore Géricault · 1791–1824
Jean-Louis André Théodore Géricault (1791–1824) was born into a prosperous bourgeois family in Rouen, France, the son of a lawyer who managed the family tobacco business. After moving to Paris around 1797, his artistic talent emerged early, nurtured in a circle that included his maternal uncle Jean-Baptiste Caruel and art dealer Jean-Louis Laneuville. Géricault began formal training in 1808 under ...