1850
charcoal
paper
From the collection of National Gallery of Art
Horses is a 1850 charcoal by French 19th Century, a Romanticism work, held at National Gallery of Art.
This sketch shows two horses standing side by side, drawn in loose, quick lines. The artist used dark charcoal on brown paper, leaving some areas rough and others slightly blurred. The horses look simple but strong, with simple backgrounds that don’t distract from their shapes. The sketch feels fast and rough, like a quick study rather than a polished work. The brown paper and charcoal give it a warm, earthy tone, almost like a sketchbook page. If you like this style, look up Romanticism next to see how artists used emotion and nature in their work.
This sculptor liked to keep sharp tools in the studio and blunt ones in his pocket—his niece recalled finding him absentmindedly whittling a stick while talking philosophy.
See the richer artist page
