Artwork
The Races at Longchamp
The Races at Longchamp is an oil painting by the Impressionist artist Jean-Louis Forain. It dates from 1891 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art. Jean‑Louis Forain’s oil on canvas, dated circa 1891, portrays a horse‑racing day at the Longchamp venue.
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- Inscribed:lower right: j. l. forain
About this work
Subject & Meaning
By focusing on the racing scene, Forain conveys themes of speed, competition, and the allure of modernity within a traditional setting.
The Races at Longchamp depicts a horse race at the Longchamp Racecourse in Paris, capturing the dynamic movement of thoroughbreds and jockeys against a backdrop of spectators and the grandeur of the imperial pavilion. The painting emphasizes the energy and spectacle of late 19th-century French horse racing, reflecting both the excitement of the sport and the social atmosphere of the Parisian elite. By focusing on the racing scene, Forain conveys themes of speed, competition, and the allure of modernity within a traditional setting.
Technique & Style
Jean-Louis Forain executed The Races at Longchamp in 1891 using oil paint on a canvas support. The work measures 73.66 cm in height and 92.71 cm in width. Classified as a genre scene, the painting depicts a horse racing subject with the handling and material application characteristic of Forain's approach during this period. The surface retains the physical properties of the oil medium applied to the woven canvas foundation.
History & Provenance
The Races at Longchamp was painted by Jean-Louis Forain in 1891 in oil on canvas. Its earliest documented owner was Tchoukin in 1900. The work subsequently passed through the Paris and New York galleries of Durand-Ruel in 1922, the same year it was acquired by Walther Halvorsen, who held it until it entered the Stockholm-based Svensk-Franska Konstgalleriet.
By 1926 the painting had been sold to Thorsten Laurin in Stockholm; it was lent that January to the exhibition Fransk Konst i Svensk privat Ägo at Liljevalchs Konsthall and later catalogued in Ragnar Hoppe's 1936 inventory of Laurin's collection. A possible Stockholm sale in 1939 is noted, after which the painting entered the collection of Paul Mellon in Upperville, Virginia. It entered the National Gallery of Art as a 1999 bequest from Mellon, with a retained life interest for his wife Rachel Lambert Mellon.
The Races at Longchamp is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. It was exhibited at Liljevalchs Konsthall in Stockholm in January 1926 and was also shown in the 1968 exhibition Degas' Racing World at Wildenstein in New York. The painting measures 73.66 cm in height and 92.71 cm in width.
Context
The Races at Longchamp (1891) is a painting by Jean-Louis Forain that depicts a horse race at the Longchamp Racecourse in Paris. The work has been part of the National Gallery of Art's collection in Washington, D.C., since 1999, following its bequest by Paul Mellon. It was previously owned by Thorsten Laurin, who lent it to exhibitions in Stockholm, and it was later shown in a 1968 presentation of Degas' racing scenes in New York.
Scholarship on the painting often situates it within Forain's broader interest in fleeting urban moments and the social rituals of late 19th-century Parisian leisure, reflecting his role in bridging Impressionist technique with a more expressive, realist approach.
Overview
Jean‑Louis Forain’s oil on canvas, dated circa 1891, portrays a horse‑racing day at the Longchamp venue. The composition is dominated by a bustling assemblage of spectators, their attire vivid against a verdant landscape, conveying the immediacy and movement of the event.
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Artist & collection
Artist
Jean-Louis Forain (French pronunciation:; 23 October 1852 – 11 July 1931) was a French Impressionist painter and printmaker, working in media including oils, watercolour, pastel, etching and lithograph.
