The Small Horse
Artist: Raymond Duchamp-Villon (French, 1876-1918)
Date: Plaster version 1914, this cast 1950’s
Dimensions:
H: 17 1/4 in. (43.8 cm); W: 13 3/16 in. (33.5 cm); Depth: 15 3/16 in. (39.1 cm)
Medium: Cast bronze
Classification: Sculpture
Credit Line: Purchased with funds from the Libbey Endowment, Gift of Edward Drummond Libbey
Object number: 1996.18
Label Text:Brother to artists Jacques Villon and Marcel Duchamp, Raymond Duchamp-Villon became well known for his work advancing modernist sculpture through the expression of the inner energy of forms. Exhibiting alongside his brothers at the landmark avant-garde Armory Show of 1913 in New York, Duchamp-Villon worked during a critical moment in the development of modern art.
The horse is an exemplary subject of the changing times of the early 20th century in many ways. Historically, the horse has been pictured in equestrian portraits of military leaders or monarchs as a sign of harnessing power and maintaining control. Before the achievements of industrialization, the horse was essential for transportation and as a source of labor. As a medic in a French cavalry regiment, Duchamp-Villon observed the anachronistic horse and advanced technology working side by side in World War I (1914–18), the last war where the horse would play so large a role.
For The Small Horse, body parts become mechanical parts, the joints showing the horse’s—and simultaneously an engine’s—potential for powerful motion.
The horse is an exemplary subject of the changing times of the early 20th century in many ways. Historically, the horse has been pictured in equestrian portraits of military leaders or monarchs as a sign of harnessing power and maintaining control. Before the achievements of industrialization, the horse was essential for transportation and as a source of labor. As a medic in a French cavalry regiment, Duchamp-Villon observed the anachronistic horse and advanced technology working side by side in World War I (1914–18), the last war where the horse would play so large a role.
For The Small Horse, body parts become mechanical parts, the joints showing the horse’s—and simultaneously an engine’s—potential for powerful motion.
Not on view
In Collection(s)