Fighting Horses
1820
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
1820
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
Two horses rear up, teeth bared, while a groom in a red jacket yanks on their reins. Dust flies. Muscles ripple under sweaty coats. Géricault loved horses—he rode them, sketched them, even studied dead ones to get the anatomy right. This isn’t a noble battle or a myth; it’s just two animals fighting in a field, something he might have seen on any afternoon ride. For more of this raw energy, look up *impasto*—the thick, quick brushwork that makes the scene feel alive.
