Awesome Horses In The Arts

 

ART-DECO-STYLE-BRONZED-METAL-FEMALE-NUDE-ON-HORSE-BY-C.-CHARLES.-Mid-20th-Century

Female nude on horse – Art Deco sculpture by C.Charles

Mid 20th Century

 

Equine Arts:

The horse is such a graceful, elegant looking animal, its hard to imagine it has the strength to be mobilized as a beast of burden. Being blessed with superb form and proportion, its been a favourite subject with artists over the ages, and next to man, the most portrayed. The evolution of man from barbarism to civilization carries the horse hoof footprint along with it. The more successful early civilizations were all accomplished horse owners and breeders that cleverly exploited them for advantage.

In the Iliad , Homer describes four in hand chariots, expert riding and skilful horsemanship being an accomplished art among the Greeks. The splendour and agility of the horse was on display in the widespread chariot races across the Roman Empire and horses played a crucial role in its expansion. Chariot racing was introduced into the Olympic games around 1450 BC. The success of Genghis Khan as a conqueror relied heavily on the strength and endurance of his horses.

As spoils of war during Napoleon’s 1797 Austrian/Italian campaign, Bonaparte took the winged Lion of St. Mark and the four Corinthian horses from Venice as victory ornaments to place on top of the Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel in Paris. Fortunately they were returned in 1815 after his defeat at Waterloo. These Corinthian horses were originally acquired by Venetian Crusaders during the Siege Of Constantinople in 1204. The famous gold gilded horses from the Hippodrome were sent back to Venice to adorn the facade of St Mark’s Basilica. (see below)

 

 

venezia-horses-at-san-marcoHorses-on-Basilica-San-Marco-(c)2006-Randy-D

Venezia horses at San Marco Basilica, Italy

 (c)2006 Randy D. Bosch

Attributed to the 4th century BC Greek sculptor Lysippos. Others claim that the sculptures may have been brought from the Greek Island of Chios by Theodosious II in the 5th century,

 

 

Natalia Vodianova, photographed by Annie Leibovitz -l “Grand Entrance” for Vogue USA

Annie Leibovitz  photo of Natalia Vodianova

Vogue USA

 

Da Vinci, Manet, Degas, Jacques Louis David, Odilon Redon, Guillaume Coustou, Eugene Delacroix and Franz Marc are some of the famous artists that created art inspired by horses. In the Baroque era, the tradition of equine portraiture was established, with artists such as Peter Paul Rubens, Anthony van Dyck and Diego Velázquez portraying regal subjects atop their mounts. The horse loving German painter, Franz Marc, was less interested in depicting anatomical accuracy than in an evocation of the horses’ nature; for him, animals were better than humans for expressing a sense of the divine.

Da Vinci’s monumental equestrian statue was never completed in 1842 but it was replicated successfully in the late 20th century (see below). Isidore Bonheur was recognized for his French animalier sculptures and the most famous works he produced were of horses. Horse sculptures were widely represented in the Art Deco, Cubist and Orientalist arts.

Since the early cave art, there has been and will continue to be, a steady stream of artists creating art inspired by this majestic, loyal animal.

 

 

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Ancient Chinese horsehead

Guimet Museum – National Museum of Asian Arts

shenqi2006 – Flickriver

 

Giddydown !

The first time I rode a horse, without hardly any encouragement, it took off and bolted across a field, thrusting me into a state of adrenaline rushed, white knuckle exhilaration and a fear of the unknown, because when I pulled on the reins, it wanted to go faster. Fortunately the open spaces stretched a long way in front and it eventually slowed down to a more casual pace, where I felt I had some control and I settled into admiring the balance and fluidity of its movement.

 

 

Grazing Horses motif on Raku vessel - Nita Claise

 ‘Raku Cave Horse Bottle’ – Nita Claise, Indiana

Nita Claise site

 

 

 

Sterling Circus retro poster - clown riding a horse

Clown riding a horse — Stirling Circus Poster

 

 

1317160648_www.nevsepic.com Painter Vladimir Romanovich Rasputin

‘Phaeton Son Of The Sun’ – Vladimir Romanovich Rasputin

 

 

Aline-Bernstein-Riders-1920-Papillon-Gallery - modernist bronze horse with two riders

‘Riders’ – Aline Bernstein

1920 – Papillon Gallery

 

 Horse head sculpture Designed by Andy Scott

‘The Kelpies’ – one of the two giant horse head sculptures standing next to the Forth and Clyde Canal in Falkirk, Scotland. Designed by Andy Scott, each installation is 30 meters high (99 feet) made from structural steel with a stainless steel cladding. It took around 7 years of development

 

Ernst Haas - Leaping Horse, Misfits - on the movie set of Misfits

‘Leaping Horse, Misfits’ – Ernst Haas – on the movie set for ‘Misfits’

1960 – Getty Images

 

 

 

Florence-Welch-of-Florence-+-the-Machine-took-to-her-high-horse-in-New-York-in-August-2012-for-a-special-edition-of-Vogue-Magazine,-..

Florence Welch of ‘Florence + the Machine’ on a black stallion – New York, 2012 for Vogue

 

 

 

Basel,-Switzerland-Sculpture-by-Carl-Nathan-Burckhardt-called-Amazon,-Pferd-Führend-(An-Amazon-leading-a-horse)-Wayne-Hopkins-flickr--

Sculpture by Carl Nathan Burckhardt called ‘Amazon, Pferd Führend’ (An Amazon leading a horse)

Basel, Switzerland

Wayne Hopkins flickr

 

 

Blue-Mountain-Horses

Rudy Autio’s ‘Blue Mountain Horses’

 

 

Apollo's-Chariot,-1907---Odilon-Redon---WikiArt

‘Apollo’s Chariot’ – Odilon Redon — WikiArt

1907

 

 

the-siege-of-constantinople-1204-eugene-delacroix - venetian crusaders riding past the suffering inhabitants

‘The Siege Of Constantinople’, 1204 – Eugene Delacroix

Delacroix gave the invading Venetian Crusaders a dispassionate look as opposed to the compassionate response from the horse (click to enlarge)

 

 

French-entering-Venice,-1797 Gondolas and Napoleon entering Venice on the canals

Gondola invasion – Napoleon and French troops entering Venice, 1797

 

 

 

end-of-the-trail-sculpture-chief-john-big-tree-by-james-earle-fraser-1915-shaler-park-waupun-wi

‘End of the Trail Sculpture’. Chief John Big Tree by James Earle Fraser

1915 ~ Shaler Park, Waupun, Wisconsin

 

 

 

Ceramic-Sculpture-Created-by-Jeri-Hollister

Jeri Hollister horse sculpture

 

 

Charlemagne-Statue-Charles The Great

Charlemagne (Charles The Great) Statue

 

 

Cut Loose_bronze horses sculpture - Wayne Selge-EISENHAUER-GALLERY

‘Cut Loose’ – Wayne Selge

Eisenhauer Gallery – 1stDibs

 

 

Cypriot-horse-and-rider sculpture Met

Cypriot  horse and rider sculpture

Met, NY

 

 

Dominique-Pouchain - bronze sculpture of a lady standing on the back of a horse

‘Child and bird’ – Dominique Pouchain

 

 

 

Bronze-statue---Dynamic-depiction-of-a-samurai-on-a-horse-in-gallop,-on-a-circular-base

Bronze statue – Dynamic depiction of a samurai on a galloping horse, on a circular base

 

 

 

driftwood-sculptures-by-jeffro-uitto-knock-on-wood

‘Knock On Wood’ driftwood sculptures by Jeffro Uitto

 

 

 

Elaborate-Embroidered-Indian-Needlework wall art

Embroidered Indian Needlework

 

 

 

Epic-Kazakh Golden Eagle hunters- on horseback on the steppes

Kazakh Golden Eagle hunters on horseback

 

 

Fate OF The Animals-Franz-Marc-one of the key figures of the German Expressionist movement.

‘Fate Of The Animals’ – Franz Marc

The horse-loving German painter Franz Marc was, with Wassily Kandinsky, a founding member of The Blue Rider − an innovative expressionist movement that privileged abstracted forms and bold colors that they believed had spiritual significance

 

 

 

Trevi Fountain, Rome, Italy - photographed by Rob Sheridan

Trevi Fountain, Rome, Italy, 2009

Photo Rob Sheridan

 

 

Flags-Monument-in-Ibirapuera-Park-.Monument to the Bandeirantes

The ‘Monument to the Bandeiras’, a stone sculpture group by Victor Brecheret, located in São Paulo, Brazil

 

Giddyap_Wayne-Salge - bronze sculpture of a man riding a horse

‘Giddyap’ – Wayne Salge

 

 

Harvey_Pullin_Leather_1989G

G. Harvey – ‘Pullin Leather’ bronze statue

Whistle Pik Galleries, 1st.Dibs

 

 

The-American-Horse-(August-2010,-Meijer-Gardens-&-Sculpture-Park,

Milan, Italy and Grand Rapids, Michigan are the only two cities that have the world’s largest horse sculptures (of equal size) designed by Leonardo Da Vinci. Milan has ‘Il Cavallo’ and the other Da Vinci horse sculpture can be found at Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park, Grand Rapids. After designing the monumental horse sculpture, DaVinci had to wait for the bronze, so he started his painting “The Last Supper.” Due to complications, namely the Second Italian War, the horse was never created.

 

 

Horse-sculpture-at-Frederik-Meijer-Gardens,-Grand-Rapids,-MI-by-wsilver---flickr

Frederick Meijer Gardens horse sculpture

Wayne Silver —flickr

 

 

Ceramic horse figurine by Jenny Southam

Jenny Southam

 

 

Horse-sculpture-Las-Vegas by Wangstone

Horse sculpture outside the Wynn in Las Vegas.

Wangstone

 

 

 

Horse-wall-sculpture-with-flowing-mane-and-tabletop-with-square-base,-Los-Angeles,-CA,-1969-1984-C

Metal horse sculpture on wood base – C. Jere –  ARTISAN HOUSE

Rago Auctions

 

 

 

jian-wei-Bronze-copper-horse sculpture 28cm-height

Bronze copper rearing horse sculpture – Jian Wei

28cm-height

 

 

 

- John Storrs (1885–1956) Study for a Monument to Walt Whitman, ...-1919–1920-Bronze

Bronze Art Deco “Winged Horse” –  Study for a Monument to Walt Whitman – John Storrs

1919–1920

 

 

 

Manlio-Trucco-(1884-1974)-nude-female-centaur.-On-the-back,-incidentally-signature-and-initials,-Albisola

Manlio Trucco-(1884-1974) –  Nude female riding centaur –  ceramic charger

Albisola, Italy 1930

 

 

 

Marie-Prett - nude girl riding a white horse with green eyes

Girl riding a white horse – Marie Prett

 

 

 

Michael-Kay ceramic vessel with three athletic figures and a horse

Michael Kay ceramic vessel

 

 

SF-World-Horse-Power-Nic-Fiddian-Green--Spinnocchia-Freund.com

British sculptor Nic Fiddian Green

 

 

 

Jacques_Lipchitz,_1914,_Acrobat_on_Horseback_(Acrobate_à_cheval)

‘Acrobat on Horseback’ – Jacques Lipchitz

1914

 

 

 

Painted-faience-charger-with-Lady-Godiva,-Wisconsin,-1950-Aaron-Bohrod

Painted faience charger with Lady Godiva – Aaron Bohrod

Wisconsin, 1950

 

 

Peter-Corlett-sculpture at The Australian Soldier Park, Israel

Peter Corlett sculpture

The Australian Soldier Park, in Beersheba, Israel is dedicated to the memory of the Australian Light Horse regiments, that captured the town from the Ottoman Empire during World W1 in 1917. This also included a desperate cavalry charge of 800 men and horses across naked ground swept by artillery and machine-gun fire, to reach water wells before they were poisoned. This occurred  after they had just crossed the Sinai Desert and hadn’t had water for 48 hours. This audacious and brave act for water and survival, ending with horses leaping over the trenches and riders brandishing bayonet swords, turned out to be the last cavalry charge in the history of warfare.

 

 

Polia-Pillin-glazed-ceramic-spherical-vase with illustration of a girl in a chariot

Polia Pillin glazed ceramic spherical vase

 

 

 

Primavera-Ceramic-Vase with a man riding a horse decorative motif,-Paris,-1950s

Primavera Ceramic Vase with a man riding a horse decorative motif

Paris 1950s

 

 

Ride of the Valkyrie.-Stephan Sinding/Paris, 1908, --Sotheby-s

‘Ride of the Valkyrie’ – Stephan Sinding

Martyn Cook Antiques, Rushcutters Bay, AU 1stDibs

Sinding was a sculptor of international repute, a native of Norway whose formative years were spent in Berlin before he married a Dane and settled in Paris. The Valkyrie depicts the Wagnerian heroine Brunhilde sweeping down the mountain, speeding on her furious steed in fierce anticipation of battle below. Bröchner recounts that Sinding took a studio halfway up the Boulevard de Raspail especially so he could study horses going downhill. He spent hours in observation until one day a Normandy stallion became restive right outside his window. He seized the opportunity to sketch the bared teeth and peculiar expression that is the hallmark of this wild and wind-swept creature.

 

 

races-at-longchamp-edouard-manet

His compatriot Edgar Degas may have painted more horse races, but in Manet’s frank, modern depiction of a day at the track in Paris’s Bois de Boulogne he captures the rise of a new class: the leisure-loving bourgeoisie. Manet places the viewer right at the finish line, with the horses charging towards us, blurring together in a cloud of beige and brown.

 

 

Raku,-Raven's-Mane,-large-horse-sculpture,-by-Leslie-Ahrens

Raku, ‘Raven’s Mane’ , large horse sculpture bust by Leslie Ahrens

 

 

 

Rock-Art-Mare-Itch-star-york-sculpture

Sculptured mare ‘Itch’  – Star Liana York

 

 

 

Emmanuel Kieffer large size horse sculpture

Emmanuel Kieffer

 

 

 

Salvador-Dali’s-remarkable--Santiago-El-Grande-(1957)

Salvador Dali’s  Santiago El Grande

1957

15 foot tall canvas –  “Beaverbrook Art Gallery” in Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada

 

 

 

Saatchi-Art-Artist--Raimundo-Folch---The-abundance- man with a chariot drawn by two horses

‘The abundance’ – Raimundo Folch

Saatchi Art

 

 

 

SONJA-Katzin-born-1919-Man-and-Horse-Signed-Katzin.-Patinated-bronze,-height-107.5-cm--

‘Man and Horse’ – Sonja Katzin

height 107.5 cm

 

Solovaya-Svetlana - Solovaya Svetlana. Pippi Longstocking A girl with striped stokcings sitting on a horse with a teaset

Solovaya Svetlana. ‘Pippi Longstocking’

 

 

 

Springare-by-Stig-Lindberg,-1952

‘Springare’  – Stig Lindberg

 

 

 

STEFI-GRUENBERG---HORSES

Stefi Gruenberg

 

 

The-Chollima-Statue-in-Pyongyang-symbolizes-the-advance-of-Korean-society-at-the-speed-of-the-mythical-Chollima---Nicor-Wikimedia-Commons

The Chollima Statue in Pyongyang symbolizes the advance of Korean society at the speed of the mythical Chollima

Nicor – Wikimedia Commons

 

 

Vienna-Augarten-'Capriole'-Spanish-Horse-Riding-School-Figurine,-circa-1965-City-Antik---Vienna

Vienna Augarten ‘Capriole’ Spanish Horse Riding School Figurine

circa 1965

City Antik—Vienna – !stDibs

 

 

 

Rider-Lady-Tang-Dynasty-(618-906)-Seated-on-the-saddle-(remouvable-from-the-horse)-with-polychromy

Lady riding a horse – Tang Dynasty (618-906)

 

 

Gabriël-Sterk---Bronze-equine-study---fighting-stallions

Gabriël Sterk—Bronze equine study — Fighting Stallions

 

 

 

x-unicorn

‘The Unicorn’ – Salvador Dali

Art Science Museum, Singapore

 

 

Cavalier-Sao---Tchad bronze sculpture

Cavalier Sao —Chad, Africa

 

 

 

 

3 Comments

  1. Talie
    Posted April 9, 2020 at 8:51 am | Permalink

    Thanks so much for putting this together. I ‘m a lover of all things equine and you showed me work I had’t seen before. Loved it. Thank you. Talie

  2. Posted July 11, 2022 at 3:44 pm | Permalink

    Beautiful selection in your section on horse sculptures…. Interesting challenge for ceramics because the legs tend to be too thin to do anatomically correct, but some great sculptures are made of horses in clay, they seem to explore a different kind of image than bronze horse sculptures

  3. Posted September 2, 2022 at 3:43 am | Permalink

    My father Robert Edward Weaver did the painting of the Riding Clowns for the Sterling Beer advertisement. Please visit his website to see other great circus equestrian art by him. http://www.robert-edward-weaver.com

    Cheers!

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  1. By Awesome Horses In The Arts | ceramics and art |... on December 31, 2015 at 5:53 pm

    […] Being blessed with superb form and proportion, the horse has been a favorite subject with artists over the ages, and next to man, the most portrayed.  […]

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