cover image Gericault's Horses: Drawings and Watercolours

Gericault's Horses: Drawings and Watercolours

Philippe Grunchec. Vendome Press, $45 (183pp) ISBN 978-0-86565-047-3

Today best known for The Raft of the Medusa, which won a gold medal at the Paris Salon of 1819, Theodore Gericault (17911824) was famous in his lifetime for painting his favorite subject: the horse. French art historian Grunchec collects here watercolors, sketches and prints (most in color) of those horses. This impressive body of work shows the vitality with which the artist endowed his animals, and reflects his love and admiration for them. The illustrations include sketches for oil paintings, among them Charging Chasseur and Wounded Cuirassier Leaving the Field of Battle (now in the Louvre); studies of horses' hooves and heads; watercolor washes, lithographs and drawings. With a brief biography of the artist and informative captions, this is a comprehensive overview of the Gericault horses. November