Boy Giving Oats to an Unhitched Horse

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Boy Giving Oats to an Unhitched Horse

Artist Théodore Géricault (French, 1791-1824)

Place of OriginFrance

Date1823

Dimensions17 13/16 × 14 3/16 in. (45.2 × 36.1 cm)

MediumOil on canvas

ClassificationPaintings

Credit LineThe 2019 TMA Board of Directors recognizes this work in honor of Director Brian Kennedy and his efforts to both develop strengths and expand directions in the permanent collection. Purchased with funds from the Libbey Endowment, Gift of Edward Drummond Libbey and Purchased with funds from the Florence Scott Libbey Bequest in Memory of her Father, Maurice A. Scott

Object number

2019.21

On View

Toledo Museum of Art (2445 Monroe Street), Gallery, 31

Label TextA giant of 19th-century French painting, Théodore Géricault is commonly regarded as one of the founders of French Romanticism along with Eugène Delacroix (1798–1863). This intimately scaled painting features one of Géricault’s favorite subjects, the horse, which for him was a symbol of vital strength. Here he highlights the emotional bond between the noble animal and the young workhand, who gently raises the feedbag to allow the horse to get to the last of the oats at the bottom. Painted towards the end of Géricault’s tragically short life (he died in January 1824 from complications associated with multiple horse-riding accidents), Boy Giving Oats to an Unhitched Horse showcases Géricault’s exemplary talent through the pictorial cropping and strong diagonal of the composition, the boy’s precarious and momentary stance, the dramatic lighting and ominous sky, and the masterful application of paint.Published ReferencesJal, Augustin, L’artiste et le philosophe, Paris, 1824, p.188. Beaux-Arts, Exposition de 1824, L’Oriflamme, II, 1824, p. 83. Revue critique du Salon de 1824, Paris, 1825, p. 104. Batissier, Louis, Géricault, Revue du XIXe siècle, n.d (1824), p.19. Blanc, Charles, Histoire des peintres français au XIXe siècle, I, Paris 1845, p.12. del Guercio, Antonio, Géricault, Milan, 1863, p. 114, 151, pl. 88 (the lithograph). Clément, Charles, Catalogue de l’oeuvre de Géricault. Peintures dans la Gazette des Beaux-Arts, May 1867, p. 466 and September 1867, no. 138 property of M. Schickler. Clément, Charles, Géricault, étude biographique et critique avec le catalogue raisonné de l’oeuvre du maître. Paris, 1879, p. 313, n°144: “Jeune garçon donnant à manger à un cheval dans une musette”. Le garçon est coiffé d’une calotte rouge. Le cheval, brun, est tourné à gauche. On vient de le dételer, et on voit derrière lui la partie antérieure d’une charrette à deux roues avec les brancards levés. Ciel très obscur. La composition a beaucoup de rapport avec celle de la lithographie du même nom. A. Schickler. (Young boy feeding a horse in a nosebag. The boy is wearing a red cap. The horse, brown, is turned to the left. It has just been unhitched and behind him the rear of a two wheeled cart with raised biers. Very dark sky. The composition is very close to the lithograph of the same title. A. Schickler.) H. 44,5cm ; L. 35cm. (2) p. 403, no. 83: “Jeune garçon donnant l’avoine dans une musette a un gros cheval dételé”. Cette pièce en hauteur a été lithographiée par M.Volmar, d'après une peinture sur toile imprimée à la colle, faite dans une journée par Géricault et exposée après sa mort au salon de 1824. Elle appartient aujourd'hui à M.Schickler. Géricault, del - Chez Gibaut, éditeur, Md d’Estampes, bd des Italiens, no. 5 -Lith. De Villain. (Young boy giving oats in a nosebag to a large unhitched horse”. This vertical piece was lithographed by Mr. Volmar after a painting on canvas prepared with glue, made in one day by Géricault and exhibited after his death at the Salon of 1824. It belongs today to Mr. Schickler. Géricault, del – published by Gibaut, print dealer, boulevard des Italiens, no. 5) Hauteur: 420 mm - Largeur: 333 mm. Rosenthal, Leon, La peinture romantique, Paris, 1900, p. 321. Duc de Trévise, Théodore Géricault, The Arts, October 1927, p.199, repr. Clément, Charles, “Géricault etc” reimpression of the definitive edition of 1879. Introduction and supplement by L. Eitner, Paris, 1973, p. 456, no. 144. Grunchec, Philippe, Tout l’oeuvre peint de Géricault, Milan, Paris, 1978, 1991, no. 212 repr. pl. LXII. Eitner, Lorenz, Géricault, his Life and Work, London, 1983, p. 357, note 84. Bazin, Germain, Théodore Géricault. Étude critique, documents et catalogue raisonné, Tome VII, Paris, 1997, pp.179-180, no. 2433 and pp. 38, 46 and 48.Exhibition HistoryParis, Salon, Un enfant donnant à manger à un cheval, no. 761, 1824. Paris, Galerie Charpentier, Exhibition, Géricault, no. 204, 1924.