Horse Art Category

The Horses of Arturo Michelena

Arturo Michelena was a Venezuelan artist during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Born to an artistic family, he began painting at an early age under the guidance of his father.

Venezuelan Hero

As a young man he helped his father to open an academy of art in his home town of Valencia. However it wasn’t until Michelena went to Paris that he began painting the finest work of his life. He favored historic scenes using his signature narrative style and his subjects are beautifully romanticized. I love the obvious Iberian influence of the horses in his work.
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The Horses of Jean-Léon Gérôme

Jean-Léon Gérôme was a French artist in the Academicism style during the late 19th century. This style of painting was produced under the influence of academies or universities.

Not Really About Horses

Gérôme’s work is incredibly detailed, and his mastery of capturing the equine animal is quite amazing considering they weren’t his actual subject. Part of it is the obvious relationship he portrays between his subject and their mount, especially in the first one below The Arab and His Steed…you can almost feel the man’s sadness.
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The Horses of Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec Pt 3

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec was born during the mid 19th century to a wealthy family in the south of France. He was not a healthy child and by the time puberty hit he had broken both of his legs resulting in their stunted growth.

Art from Tragedy

From childhood Henri found solace in his art, and he became quite adept at capturing the emotions of this subjects. Perhaps because he spent much of his life feeling like an outsider looking in. As an adult Henri kept questionable company, preferring bawdy dance halls and houses of ill repute to find his inspiration. His body of work is enormous and horses make an appearance in a large portion of them. If you haven’t seen them already be sure to check out pt. 1 & pt 2.
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The Horses of Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec Pt 2

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec was born in southern France to an aristocratic family during the mid 19th century. He had a weak & ill childhood which left him somewhat physically deformed.

Enjoying the Bawdy Life

Henri was a strange little man, oddly misshapen due to broken bones as a child. He took to the bawdy night life of bars & brothels and became a heavy drinker. While much of his art reflects the people with which he shared his time (loose women and burlesque dancers), he also had a softer side. The softer Henri enjoyed the circus and had an obvious appreciation for the equine form. So far I’ve found horses in over 30 of his pieces, so if you haven’t seen the first post of Henri’s horses be sure to check it out.
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The Horses of Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec was born in 1864 in southern France to an aristocratic family. Although he was a privileged child, he was also an ill one & his passion for art began at a young age.

Misfortune Creates Art

By the time he had hit puberty, Henri had broken bones in both of his legs which stunted their growth. At physical maturity he stood only 4.5 feet tall and had abnormally short legs. His physical misfortunes caused Henri to throw himself into his art and he favoring the racy parts of town for inspiration. There he could hide from his physical misfortunes…and drink to excess.
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The Horses of Edgar Degas

Edgar Degas was a French Impressionist painter during the late 19th & early 20th centuries. Not just an artist, Degas was an art lover and during his lifetime he amassed an enormous collection of art.

An Prolific Artist

Perhaps most widely celebrated for his scenes of Parisian life and his preoccupation with ballet dancers. However his horses are lovingly rendered and his use of color and shadow really captures the flashy coat colors of his subject.
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Equiscapes by Juliet Harrison

WaterfallMany of my readers already know the artistic equine photography of Juliet Harrison, (and if you don’t know her you should check out her interview). Recently she sent me some information about a fantastic solo show and I had to share with my readers.

The Show

“Equiscapes” is a solo show by photographer Juliet Harrison who presents an innovative approach to traditional equine form photography. The show runs June 2nd through July 24th & there is also an opening reception June 10th from 6-8pm.
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The Horses of Rosa Bonheur

Rosa Bonheur was a French painter during the mid to late 19th century and she was widely known for her animal paintings. Her father was an artist and she began to study with him at an early age.

An Artistic Life

Most of her life was spent painting her animal subjects and exhibiting her work. There were very few females among her contemporaries, but Bonheur had no trouble making a name for herself. In fact, she was a flamboyant liberal who wore her hair short, smoked cigars and dressed in mens clothing. Although horses aren’t her sole subject, she captures them with a clearly equestrian perspective.
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The Horses of Théodore Géricault

Théodore Géricault was a French painter during the early 19th century and was known for two things, horses and his romantic artistic style. One of the few independently wealthy artists I’ve featured, it seems Théodore did as he pleased.

Self Taught Artist

Géricault was a life-long horse lover and found himself fascinated with horses at a young age. He had no formal art education but the first studio he joined was that of Carle Vernet, another equestrian artist. Throughout his life he absorbed the styles of many artists each one contributing a little to his work.
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The Horses of Albrecht Adam

Albrecht Adam was a German artist during the early 19th century known for his battle scenes and his lovely horses. Bringing to the canvas his life experience on the battlefield & his obvious connection with horses.

Making A Name

Adam spent some time in Vienna where his work captured the attention of Napoleon’s stepson Eugène de Beauharnais and began to paint for him. Most of his work after that focused on Napoleon’s Russian campaign. Unlike many of the other great artists
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The Horses of Vasily Vereshchagin

Vasily Vereshchagin was a Russian painter during the late 19th century who was celebrated for depicting battle scenes in his work. He became one of the first Russian artists to be recognized worldwide.

Art Mirroring Life

At 8 years Vereshchagin was sent to the Cadet Corps and graduated first in his naval school class. He left the service to pursue his art, but traveled with a military expedition to Turkestan. He re-entered the service for the Russo-Turkish War after which he rapidly produced pictures of war scenes. The images below lean more toward his scenes of Imperial rule in British India and his visit to Turkestan (much softer and more peaceful than his war imagery).
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