Archive for the ‘Horse Art’ Category
In the past, horse harness was heavily loaded with brass bands, buckles, chains, and “trappings,” much of the latter appearing to be quite superfluous and unnecessary.
It would seem that these fanciful bits of perforated brass were created for purely artistic motives. That, however, is not quite correct. They were chiefly replicas of more ancient trappings, and although their forms may have deviated somewhat, the ancient idea is quite recognizable.
Such horse harness brass has meanings. The earlier examples of the designs are true to well-understood symbols which may or may not have had a beneficial influence. To the superstitious they were not merely trappings; they were charms of real purpose. Read the rest of this entry »
Albrecht Dürer was a German Renaissance artist known for his line-engravings, dry-points and etchings.
Many of his works include horses as a symbol of strength, and of nature and sky, with the sky being a symbol of heaven.
Out of all his art, “The Four Horsemen” from “The Apocalypse” tends to be the most famous.
Created between 1497 and 1498, “The Four Horsemen” is a woodcut that portrays four men on horses, with humanity underneath them as it gets crushed by the hooves of the horses. The mouth of Hell, which looks more like a dragon, is open in the lower left corner and is about to swallow the humans that are being trampled by the horses.
As with all of Durer’s work, it is incredibly realistic with amazing details and intense fine lines.
Similar purpose is evident in two other of his well known and admirable engravings of 1505 – The Little White Horse and The Great Horse.
Durer’s intent in each case was to produce an exact figure of a horse. He was nearly as much interested in the proportions of the horse as in those of the human body. These two engravings have a mystical character to them that is the result of Dürer’s own fantasy, in order to make the composition more complete.
Last, but not least in acclaim is Durer’s St. George on Horseback. This was the last work before Dürer’s sudden departure to Venice in 1505 in order to escape the Great Plague.
It is believed that Dürer had almost completed this engraving before his departure because the date of 1505 had already been engraved in the plate. Since the date was subsequently corrected to read 1508, it is thought that he put the final touches on it that year.
With St. George on Horseback, the background is deliberately reduced in scale for sake of contrast and any indication of a landscape is omitted. Dürer in this engraving sought to combine the monumentality of The Large Horse with the elegance of The Small Horse.
Dürer was born in Nuremberg, Germany on May 21, 1471, where he died on April 6, 1528 at the age of 57 from a fever.
Artist George Stubbs, best known for his study and paintings of horses, at one time collaborated with Josiah Wedgwood.
Stubbs became interested in painting on all type of substance and turned his attention to enamel painting by using large plaques of china for the purpose. Wedgwood’s partner, Thomas Bentley thought Stubbs had great talent and introduced him to Wedgwood.
During the late summer and early fall of 1780 Stubbs stayed with the Wedgwood family at their home, Etruria Hall for several months. While there, he created two bas-reliefs, ‘The Frightened Horse’ and ‘The Fall of Phaeton’. He also painted the Wedgwood family portrait in oil on a wood panel, and twin portraits of Wedgwood and his wife Sarah on ceramic plaques.
‘The Fall of Phaeton’ is Is based on the classical legend about Phaeton, the headstrong son of Helios, the god of the sun. Each morning Helios would board his chariot to carry the sun across the sky. One day, against his father’s wishes, Phaeton tried unsuccessfully to carry out the task. In the middle of his journey across the sky he lost control of the horses and took the sun so near the earth that he risked destroying it. Zeus, king of the gods, struck Phaeton with a thunderbolt and killed him.
Wedgwood and Stubbs also worked together on the creation of pictures that were painted on clay rectangles using colors made from powdered colored glass. These big flat pieces of painted pottery were fired in a kiln to fuse the enamel powder to the surface.
On 1st August 1780 clay tablets had been prepared for Stubbs to produce his initial model on, and by the 13th the subject of the ‘Frightened Horse’ had been chosen. By the 21st Stubbs had completed the model, and shortly thereafter the black basalt jasperware piece was completed.
Wedgwood is famous for his jasperware. Jasperware is a form of pottery made from barium sulphate that has a white or colored stoneware body with a matte finish. Although the most popular color scheme may be Wedgwood’s blue-and-white ware, jasperware can be easily tinted and thus appears in many other colors such as black basalt.
