Jean Louis André Théodore Géricault

Anatomical Model of a Horse 

Model: Paris, about 1820-24; Cast: Paris, 1959 (number 3 of 20)

Bronze

22.8 x 21.7 x 11 cm

Greatly attracted to equine subjects, Géricault may have made the original wax model of a partly flayed horse to help accurately represent its anatomy in his paintings and graphic work. Its pose was inspired by that of the horse of the famous life-size antique bronze of Marcus Aurelius (Rome). This is one of 20 casts taken in 1959 from Géricault’s original wax; a single earlier cast was made in 1832 (both now in Washington, DC). A plaster version in the Louvre was copied by Van Gogh and Redon.

Purchased 1960 (No. 60.6)