Horse

Artist Marino Marini (Italian, 1901-1980)

Place of OriginItaly

Date1950

DimensionsH: 45 3/4 in. (116.2 cm); L: 47 in. (119.4 cm); W: 22 1/2 in. (57.2 cm)

MediumBronze.

ClassificationSculpture

Credit LineMuseum Purchase

Object number

1954.3

Not on View

Label TextIn his career Marino Marini was drawn to the theme of horses and riders. In this expressive sculpture, the horse poses alone, legs splayed and head thrown back seemingly in terror or pain. Marini’s horses create a provocative commentary on the horrors of World War II, which had only been over for five years when he made this sculpture. He conveys anxieties about power and control through references to traditional equestrian images, which typically showed rulers or military leaders confidently astride magnificent steeds. Here, with its bared teeth, visible ribs, and straining muscles, the riderless horse is at once virile, vulnerable, and constrained. Marini took inspiration from the sculptural figures in his native Tuscany’s Romanesque and Gothic churches and especially from the art of the region’s ancient Etruscan culture. He explained, “My discovery of Etruscan art was an extraordinary event. This is why my art lies on themes from the past, as the link between man and horse, rather than on modern subjects like the man/machine relationship.”Published ReferencesLee, Katharine C., "Modern Art," Toledo Museum News, vol. 11, no. 4, Autumn 1968, p. 93, repr., also cover (col.)Exhibition HistoryLouvre, Paris. 1999-00.