The Representation of the Horse in Art

HISTORY OF HORSES IN ART

The horse has appeared in all forms of art throughout time, but what is its significance. We know that art is very informative of people’s lives, their culture, knowledge, beliefs and superstitions but of all animals it is the horse that is depicted more than any other. From the first cave paintings found in Southern France and Spain approximately 17,000 years ago to the present day, the image of the horse represtents many things to many people throughout the world. The first primitive paintings, which were suprisingly sophisticated, depicted the horse as short and stocky with a heavy head and a short, upright mane with some horses spottedThese were possibly symbolic of shamanism, an ancient ritualistic religion based on magic practised at this time.
Prehistoric hill figures in Sussex ,Kent and Wiltshire have been carved in the shape of the horse.
The equine image was common in ancient Egyptian and Grecian art, more refined images displaying greater knowledge of equine anatomy appeared in Classical Greece and in later Roman work. The horse was less prevalent in early Christian and Byzantine art, overwhelmed by the dominance of religious themes. The Renaissance period starting in the 14th century brought a resurgence of the horse in art. Painters of this period who portrayed the horse included Paolo Uccello, Benozzo Gozzoli, Leonardo da Vinci, Albrecht Dürer, Raphael, Andrea Mantegna and Titian.
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. Equine sporting art also became established in this era as the tradition of horse racing emerged under Tudor patronage.[1]
The mid 18th century saw the emergence of Romanticism, French artists Théodore Géricault and Eugène Delacroix were proponents of this movement and both portrayed the horse in many of their works.

It was in the 18th century that...