CANVASES, CARATS AND CURIOSITIES

Horses have long captivated the human imagination, embodying a blend of strength, grace and gentleness. Indeed, these magnificent creatures have galloped through the annals of history—not just as beasts of burden or instruments of war, but as enduring symbols of freedom, power and beauty. From ancient myths where gods fashioned them as gifts to mortals, to their depictions in artworks celebrating their noble stature, horses have been constant companions to humans in our artistic and cultural narratives.

While the perception of horses today embraces their good-natured qualities, the pre-20th-century world focused on their military might and utmost authority over nature. Horses were the backbone of pre-automobile transportation, cavalry warfare and any noble home. Nowadays, they are largely appreciated as gentle giants—intelligent, empathetic beings that offer companionship and even therapeutic benefits. As we trace the transformation of equestrian art through the centuries, we witness a parallel evolution in our relationship with horses, from esteemed partners in conquest and labor to cherished companions that enrich our lives. Their presence in art through the ages reminds us of their timeless spirits that have journeyed beside us, stride for stride, throughout human history.

Early Depictions of Horses in Art

Horses featured heavily in the statuary and decorative works from the ancient Greco-Roman civilizations. In Greek mythology, it is said that Poseidon created the first horse in an attempt to court Demeter when she asked him to create the world’s most beautiful animal. Perhaps it is for that reason that horses were among the first subjects explored by artists in ancient Greece, whether through mythical beings like centaurs, half-horse and half-man creatures, or chariot races and war scenes.

In Homer’s The Iliad (8th century BCE), the Greeks tricked the Trojans by placing a large wooden horse sculpture full of Greek warriors outside the walls of Troy while pretending to sail for home. When the Trojans brought the horse within the walls of the city, the Greek warriors climbed out, opened the gates of the city for the rest of the Greek army, and sacked the city. Because of this, the “Trojan Horse” became a symbol of strength and guile in warfare. Ancient Romans also relied on horses for the success of military operations, as they led chariots into battle. Owning horses was a status symbol for aristocrats, who often used them for chariot races, an extremely popular form of entertainment for both cultures.

In a 3rd-century CE mosaic, now mounted to a marble base and set on a beautiful iron table, a Roman charioteer is featured with his chestnut-colored horse. In the Roman Empire, chariot racing was split into teams, which were identified by a specific color. Citizens would identify with a certain color faction, either green, white, blue, or red. Most likely commissioned by a fan to display team loyalty, the mosaic table features the charioteer in a blue shirt, which represents his allegiance to the elite class of 3rd-century Rome. The green faction, on the other hand, represented the general populace of Rome.

On the other side of the world, horses also held a special significance in China. During the Han dynasty (206 BCE-220 CE), Emperor Wu (r. 141-87 BCE) sent an envoy of 60,000 men to the Ferghana Valley (now Uzbekistan) to conquer the Greco-Bactrian Kingdom and bring back their highly prized Ferghana horses. Known for their high endurance and toughness, Emperor Wu coined them “heavenly horses” due to their supposedly mythical ability to sweat blood and defeat any enemy. The envoy succeeded and returned with 3,000 Ferghana horses. Emperor Wu also traded imperial princess Liu Xijun’s marriage to the King of Wusun for 1,000 heavenly horses.

Centuries later, horses continued to hold a special significance during the Tang Dynasty (7th-10th centuries CE). Known as a dynasty that oversaw a massive cultural and artistic “golden age” for Chinese civilization, the Tang considered horses a symbol of prestige, wealth and military prowess. The second ruler who unified China, Emperor Taizong, credited his horse for saving his life in a major battle that solidified Tang control of China. The belief in horses as a powerful figure for success and wealth led to their imagery being commonly used for funerary objects.

At two and a half feet tall, a rare, large earthenware funerary sculpture depicts a strong, striding horse. Known as a mingqi, this sculpture was buried in an upper-class society member’s tomb, where it was believed to accompany the deceased into the afterlife. Due to the rise of the Silk Road during the Tang dynasty, reaching its peak between 500 and 800 CE, pack animals like this horse was frequently depicted as guardian mingqi that helped facilitate trade and long-distance travel in the afterlife. The terracotta hues that color the horse’s flanks and legs indicate the horse was once beautifully pigmented.

Classical and Renaissance Art: The Rise of Equestrian Portraiture

Whether immortalized in art as racing champions or revered in funerary sculptures meant to guide the dead into the afterlife, horses transcended mere functionality to become potent symbols of prestige and protection. Over centuries, equestrian art and artifacts shed their divine origins from Greek and Chinese mythology; however, their critical roles in warfare maintained their status as an expression of military strength.

In Classical portraiture, horses were featured alongside rulers and highly-ranked military leaders to signify their prowess on the battlefield. Renaissance artists, such as Titian, drew inspiration from Greco-Roman traditions and used equestrian portraits, where subjects were shown on horseback, to emphasize their authority. Depicted in grand, dynamic poses, these creatures symbolized control over both nature and armies, matching the political and physical might of their riders.

One of the most iconic examples of equestrian portraits being used to symbolize military strength and power in art is Jacques Louis-David’s series of portraits of Napoleon Bonaparte on horseback. In Napoleon Crossing the Alps (1801), Napoleon is depicted in full military regalia atop a rearing white horse. The scene shows the moment that Napoleon leads his troops across the Alps in a military campaign against the Austrians, which Napoleon would win at the Battle of Marengo on June 14, 1800.

The rearing pose of the stallion and Napoleon’s steadfast, forward gaze dominate the pictorial plane and imprint upon the viewer an image of Napoleon as a heroic leader. The names “Karolus Magnus” and “Hannibal” are etched into the rocks at the bottom left of the canvas next to “Bonaparte,” thus equating Napoleon to two other successful generals who led their troops across the Alps. Karolus Magnus, also known as Charlemagne the Great, is especially notable. David situates Napoleon in a line of royal succession from the progenitor of the Kingdom of France, adding legitimacy to his reign. The cloudy, rocky landscape adds further drama to the setting.

In truth, David’s portrait is one of the first examples of propaganda. The crossing of the Alps happened on a clear, sunny day, and Napoleon had been riding a mule that was led by a guide. However, after its exhibition in the Louvre, it became Napoleon’s most reproduced image. Napoleon’s control over the powerful steed became a visual metaphor for his ability to rise above the chaos of war and politics, an image that resonated long after his reign. In art, the horse thus remained an enduring symbol of leadership, strength and the pursuit of glory throughout centuries.

Innovations in Horse Breeding: Equestrian Sporting Art

Following the Renaissance, as societies became more developed, so too did the breeding of horses. More agile and faster horses that originated from the Islamic world, such as the Arabian and Barb breeds, were bred with native Northern and Western European stock. Nobility across Europe desired to raise their own special breed of horses, much like a region producing a specific type of wine. The Scientific Revolution of the 18th century furthered the development of royal horse breeding with the newfound understanding of bloodlines as a crucial factor in temperament success.

In addition, learning to ride a horse properly became a fashionable skill for noble people to master. Horses were no longer simply vehicles of manpower for farming or warfare—activities expanded into more leisurely riding, equestrian and dressage and high-speed horse races. More complex breeding and the already high associated costs of caring for horses made horse breeding and ownership a status symbol in Europe. At the time, art was a major means of displaying wealth to one’s noble peers, and the desire for horse portraiture grew as a way to flaunt wealth. Especially with horse racing, owners demanded their prize-winning horses be immortalized in portraiture, such as in James Seymour’s The Duke of Devonshire's Flying Childers (1742).

While the depiction of horses flourished in the 18th century, animal portraiture remained a second-class form of art because animals were still considered a more lowly possession than other more elevated objects. Nonetheless, horse portraiture grew popular, and many artists built careers in the genre. The Enlightenment stressed the importance of anatomy in creating art, which led to more accurate portrayals of horses, both stationary and in motion. Self-taught English artist George Stubbs was renowned for his true-to-life portraits of horses, perhaps due to his eight years of studying human anatomy at York County Hospital.

The genre of sporting art featuring horses further transformed in the 19th century as a major subject of focus for many European artists. Horse racing was full of movement, drama and energy that attracted Romantic and early Impressionist artists. For the Romantics, horses stood as a symbol of power, wild passion and intense emotions. Eugène Delacroix pictured horses in scenes rife with movement, such as in Arab Horses Fighting in a Stable (1832). Delacroix based the work on a stallion fight he saw break out in Morocco, writing: “After biting one another in every conceivable way, climbing on top of each other and prancing on their hind legs like men – having first, needless to say, got rid of their riders – they then plunged into a stream and went on fighting there with unheard-of ferocity.”

That ferocity is perfectly encapsulated in his painting, where the drama of the fight unfolds through the heavy contrast of light and dark, short brushstrokes and whirlwind movement. The fieriness of the scene and the aggressiveness of the horses reflect Romanticism’s emphasis on emotion as superior to reason and nature as all-powerful.

Edgar Degas, a French Impressionist, expanded on the Romantics’ fascination with horses in his own career. While many Impressionist artists focused on landscapes or modern urban life, Degas was captivated by the dynamic movement and elegance of horses, depicting them with remarkable precision. As a member of the prestigious Jockey Club de Paris, he was a frequent visitor to the horse races at Deauville and Longchamps, where he was able to enjoy the beauty and excitement of the horses at close quarters. Consequently, images of horses became a central part of his artistic output beginning in the 1870s.

His depictions were not about glorifying the wildness or symbolism of horses, as the Romantics did, but about observing their anatomical precision and the relationship between rider and horse. Perhaps his dedication to accuracy came from Degas’ other fascination: the advent of photography.

In 1878, British photographer Edward Muybridge developed stop-action photography, which captured a series of stills of objects in motion. His object? A horse cantering around a race track. The stills of horses arrested in motion, with their limbs suspended in the air, not only illuminated photography’s ability to stop time in a single image but also proved the theory of “unsupported transit,” the idea that when in motion, all four horse hooves could be off the ground. During his career, Degas created many bronzes of horses in motion, illustrating Muybridge’s “unsupported transit” discovery. In Horse with Jockey (1871; 1998), Degas’ horse gallops gracefully forward with the jockey perched upon his back. Only his back left foot touches the ground as he glides through the air.

From Racing to the Wild West: Horses in All Genres

Building off Edgar Degas’ analytical approach to horse racing, where he captured the precise moments before and after the race, artists in the early 20th century continued to explore the dynamic energy and cultural significance of horses in sporting scenes. Some artists returned to the theoretical ideas set out by the Romantics, embracing a more expressive and colorful portrayal of the racecourse. Among them was Raoul Dufy, whose fascination with horse racing went beyond the anatomical precision Degas favored, opting instead to capture the vibrancy and spectacle of the sport.

Raoul Dufy's fascination with horse racing first emerged in his art as early as 1913. However, the passion for this subject did not manifest more heavily until the early 1920s when a peer suggested he attend the races to observe the modern, fashionable dress. Rather than the fashionable crowd, Dufy instead became entranced by the vibrant colors of the horses and jockeys.

Dufy captures this interest in his 1929 watercolor, Cheveaux de courses. This work demonstrates Dufy’s bold use of color, a signature style developed during his association with the Fauves in the early 20th century. Here, the dynamic brushstrokes and vibrant palette convey a scene bursting with life, where the colorful jockeys and horses appear in a whirlwind of motion against a backdrop of bright green turf. A vivid snapshot of sport, fashion and culture, this painting brims with life and energy.
The cultural fascination with horses was not limited to European racecourses. Across the Atlantic, the American West gripped the imagination of the public, and horses became synonymous with the rugged independence of frontier life. Artists like Frederic Remington sought to capture the evaporating essence of the Old West through his depiction of cowboys in both sculptures and paintings. In The Outlaw (1906;1916), Remington depicts the exciting scene of a cowboy “breaking” a newly saddled horse. The “outlaw” is not the rider, but the horse, who is shown bucking its hind legs in resistance. The persistence of the cowboy, who gracefully sits atop the nearly vertical stallion, matches the powerful spirit of his horse.

Better known for his two-dimensional works of the Wild West, Remington’s bronzes are the most highly coveted from his oeuvre. He only created 22 versions of The Outlaw during his and his wife’s life. However, tens of thousands of Remington sculpture reproductions exist, a testament to Remington’s ability to capture the wild, yet captivating essence of late-19th and early-20th century cowboy life.

Equestrian art has endured through the centuries as a powerful symbol of strength, control and prestige, evolving alongside the cultures and artistic movements that celebrated it. From the mythological and war-driven depictions in ancient Greco-Roman civilizations to the refined, dramatic portraits of Renaissance rulers, horses have consistently served as metaphors for human ambition and authority.

As art progressed into the modern era, equestrian subjects never waned. Instead, their depictions only grew more varied and introspective. No longer simply a symbol of an intangible idea, artists like Degas and Dufy recognized horses as a subjects of fascination and observation, reflecting the beauty and complexity of their movement and form. In the hands of painters, sculptors and craftsmen across cultures, equestrian imagery not only showcased mastery over breeding and the animal itself but also embodied a range of human experiences—the glory of battle, the hope of protection in the afterlife, the success of racing and the wild imagination of the American West. Equestrian art, through its many transformations, remains an enduring testament to the intricate relationship between humanity, power and the natural world.