Théodore Géricault: the horse, its inspiration and its end

The story of Géricault

Jean-Louis André Théodore Géricault (Rouen, 26 September 1791 – Paris, 26 January 1824) was a French painter and exponent of Romantic art.

Théodore Géricault, born into a family originally from the English Channel, settled in Paris in 1796. He grew up in a privileged environment, receiving a proper education at the Lycée Impérial. His youth was marked by ardent passions: art and chivalry, both influenced by his love of horses. These noble animals soon became the undisputed protagonists of his works, taking on forms that reflected not only their physicality but also the artist’s own intimate psyche. However, his destiny darkened with the loss of economic stability and culminated tragically in his premature death.

The horses of Théodore Géricault

In 1808, at the age of 17, he bought his first horse. At that time, he was already drawing sketches of horses in different poses, horses belonging to farmers and ‘royal’ horses in the stables of Versailles.

His works range from pencil sketches to oil paintings, depicting subjects such as horse anatomy, war portraits and prize races.

From the early years of his career, the artist made studies from life in livestock markets in order to best represent horses in his military paintings.

Théodore Géricault did not limit himself to depicting the beauty of horses; he sought to capture the very essence of life, the pure and raw emotion that only a moment of freedom could evoke.

He depicted idealised horses, launched into mad races, suspended in the air with their legs stretched out in unrealistic positions.

Tragic decline

Over the years, his depictions of horses became increasingly sombre, perhaps reflecting his state of mind. Trapped in loneliness and illness, the horses lay helpless like him, some aware of their impending fate, others already gone.

These animals reflected his moods at every moment of his short life, acting as mirrors of his emotions. In his mind, they were malleable, and through his brush, they took on forms that reflected his fragility and inner turmoil, thus embodying the complexity of his existence.

In 1822, he fell twice from his horse and, having received no treatment, suffered a spinal cord injury that led to paralysis and ultimately death. On 26 January 1824, after a month and a half of agony, Géricault died.

Allegories

More than two hundred years after his death, Géricault continues to speak for himself through his paintings. His works, imbued with passion and tragic lyricism, are silent witnesses to a tormented and brilliant soul, who was able to give shape to his suffering through the marvellous complexity of the horses he depicted.

Every brushstroke, every artistic gesture, tells a story of struggle and beauty, an eternal dialogue between life and death, freedom and imprisonment, idealisation and reality.

In a world that often forgets the beauty of human fragility, Géricault reminds us that art is the bridge between life and death, between dream and reality, and that horses, in all their grandeur and vulnerability, are the perfect allegories of this journey.

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