XV - Works On Paper - Marty de Cambiaire (English)

Fig. 2 T. Géricault, Six Horses Going to a Fair, lithograph.
Fig. 3 T. Géricault, The Plaster Kiln, Paris, Musée du Louvre.
sheet in the Louvre (Inv. 26740) representing two
dray horses seen from behind, with the third horse
sketched on the left side (Fig. 4), is very similar to
the present drawing despite a slightly more rapid
draughtsmanship. The vantage point is lower as we
see the stomach of the first horse under its croup.
A further sheet, reproduced in the artist’s catalogue
Fig. 4 T. Géricault, Two Dray Horses Seen from Behind,
Paris, Musée du Louvre.
raisonné, is even more similar to our drawing,
albeit it is also more sketched: it shows two horses
seen from behind, harnessed like the horses in the
present sheet with a shoulder collar which Germain
Bazin identifies as French 4 . Finally, a third drawing,
Roulier conduisant un chariot (Cart driver), shows
four horses – the two in front are only sketched
– hauling a cart by traces attached to tow bars,
which is highly reminiscent of the harness in the
present drawing with the exception of the cart
driver walking on the side instead of being seated
on the back of one of the horses 5 .
The present sheet reveals a remarkable sense of
perspective and a virtuoso draughtsmanship. The
ability and effortlessness of execution hides the
complexity of composition which shows the four
croups walking at the same pace. The rhythm that
unites them is a perfect example of Henri Bouchot’s
comments praising the “ultimate painter of horses”
for his “agreement of paces, science of walking,
a certain poetry that he gives to the things which
were previously treated negligently.” 6 .
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