Colt
1944
paint
From the collection of Victoria and Albert Museum
1944
paint
From the collection of Victoria and Albert Museum
Colt is a 1944 paint by Beihong Xu, a Chinese Orthodox School work, held at Victoria and Albert Museum.
This painting shows a horse rearing up on its back legs. The muscles pop under its dark coat. The artist painted each hair with care. Xu Beihong studied in Paris before returning to China. He blended Chinese ink work with Western anatomy. The brushstrokes feel alive here—like the horse could step right out of the paper. You’ll see more of his work at the Victoria and Albert Museum.
Xu Beihong’s *Colt*, painted in summer 1944, is an ink-on-paper work featuring the artist’s inscription and two personal seals. The painting merges Western academic techniques with Chinese ink traditions, reflecting Xu’s lifelong artistic focus. Originally gifted by the artist to Ellen Wilkinson, a British Labour politician, it later entered the Victoria and Albert Museum’s collection via her sister. The work is significant as an example of Xu’s influential 20th-century practice.
Read the full account in the museum source.
Xu Beihong painted horses and animals in a realist tradition rooted in 20th-century Chinese ink painting.
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