西奥多·热里科水彩画《战马》

Théodore Géricault(1791-1824)是法国浪漫主义画派先驱，对后世现实主义发展产生深远影响‌‌。‌‌

Théodore Géricault turned away from traditional subjects such as mythology and the Bible in favor of modernity, emotion, and drama. He was fascinated by the power and physical beauty of horses and depicted them often. Géricault himself was an avid rider and his paintings and drawings on this theme are characterized by vigor and movement. In this watercolor, he focused on a conflict, in which a groom struggles to separate a pair of fighting horses—a scene that appeared only a few times throughout his many interpretations of similar subjects. A sketchbook, now in the collection of the Art Institute of Chicago, shows that the artist carefully studied the animals, including the kicking white stallion at center, in graphite before beginning this finished work.

泰奥多尔·热里科摒弃了神话与圣经等传统题材，转而钟情于现代性、情感与戏剧张力。他痴迷于马匹的力量与形体之美，并屡次以其入画。热里科本人即是狂热骑手，其以马为主题的作品皆充满蓬勃生机与动态韵律。在这幅水彩画中，他聚焦于一场冲突——马夫正奋力分开一对缠斗的烈马，这在其众多同类题材创作中仅出现过数次的场景。现藏于芝加哥艺术学院的素描本显示，艺术家在创作这幅成品前，曾用石墨笔对画面中央扬蹄的白马等动物进行过细致研究。