Wild Horse, or Frightened Horse Leaving the Water
1828
Medium
Lithograph, in black, on white wove paper
Dimensions
Image: 23 × 24 cm (9 1/16 × 9 1/2 in.); Sheet: 36.1 × 27.8 cm (14 1/4 × 11 in.)
Classification
lithograph
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
74127
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
One of Delacroix's early lithographs, this image has become an icon of French romanticism. Theodore Géricault, Baron Gros, and even earlier, Jacques Louis David, had depicted the horse as a noble and trustworthy creature, but, for Delacroix, the horse epitomized a wilder spirit. In this brilliant impression, the primal fear of a threatened wild beast is expressed with particular drama. Here we see the quintessential Delacroix, who, as the poet Charles Baudelaire wrote, "was passionately in love ...
About the Artist
Eugène Delacroix · 1798–1863
Eugène Delacroix (1798–1863) stands as the defining figure of French Romanticism and a pivotal bridge to modernism. Born in Charenton-Saint-Maurice near Paris, he came from distinguished lineage—his mother descended from the prestigious Oeben-Riesener furniture dynasty, while persistent speculation suggested the statesman Talleyrand may have been his biological father, a theory supported by physic...