Study of a Horse

About this work

You see a quick, loose sketch of a horse standing still, muscles tense in its front legs. Delacroix drew this from life, watching real horses in stables. He left most of the body rough, focusing only on the legs—like a warm-up before the real work. These small studies helped him get better at painting horses later. If you like this, look up *sfumato*—a soft, smoky way of blending lines that Delacroix used in his finished paintings.