Horses at The Met: Weird, Wonderful and Empowering
This summer I visited The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, and what I found was that horses, in any form, intrigue me.
The Weird
An aquamanile is a jug-shaped vessel that usually contained water for the washing of hands (aqua + manos) over a basin, which was part of both upper-class meals and the Christian Eucharist, though there are many artifacts from Islam that predate Christian examples. Most surviving examples are in metal, typically copper alloys (brass or bronze). Horses and unicorns were particularly in fashion.
Why they’re usually depicted with dogs riding them is anyone’s guess.
Aquamanile in the Form of a Horse, German, ca. 1400. Photo by Amanda Uechi Ronan.
Aquamanile in the Form of a Unicorn, German, ca. 1425–50. Public Domain.
In the Renaissance, there was a very particular style of horse used in art. Let’s call it cartoon couture with equines resembling sort of flabbergasted, soft, plumpy versions of their real-life selves.
Allegory of Virtues and Vices at the Court of Charles V, Hans Daucher, German, ca. 1522. Photo by Amanda Uechi Ronan.
The World Turned Upside Down (Il Mondo alla Riversa), Nicolò Nelli, Italian, 1552–79. Public Domain.
Death rides a pale horse in the Bible. Sleipnir is responsible for carrying the dead to the otherworld in Norse mythology. The Cheval Gauvin is a legendary evil horse of France and Switzerland.
Seems morbid, but the art is fantastic.
Death, German, mid-17th century. Photo by Amanda Uechi Ronan.
Death on a Battlefield, from “The five deaths” (Les cinq Morts), Etched by Stefano della Bella Italian, ca. 1646–47. Public domain.
The Wonderful
As it turns out, equestrian chic decor has always been a thing.
Armchair, Various artists/makers, designed ca. 1786, woven 1790–91; chair frame second half 19th century. Public Domain.
Royal throne leg with equestrian warrior, Eastern India, Odisha, 17th century. Photo by Amanda Uechi Ronan.
Scenes from the Legend of Saint Vincent of Saragossa and the History of His Relics, French, ca. 1245–47. Photo by Amanda Uechi Ronan.
Celestial globe with clockwork, Gerhard Emmoser, German, 1579. Photo by Amanda Uechi Ronan.
The Empowering
Horses and women both feature prominently in the museum’s extensive collection, but a few really struck me as exuding a certain je ne sais quoi. I fell in love with them, and, in a collection that so often depicts women as mothers or sisters or lovers of “somebody important,” I really loved that these two showed empowered women. Women just doing their own thing.
According to The Met, “Gericault studied horses extensively throughout his life, and his stay in England in 1820–21 inspired a group of works representing elegant aspects of horsemanship and sport. The identity of this fashionably attired woman, who rides sidesaddle, is subject to speculation. Horse and rider are depicted in frieze-like profile, with the calm control she exerts over her mount standing in stark contrast to the portentous sky that distracts neither of them. Gericault here reconceives the traditional French image of a horsewoman, or Amazone, a term derived from ancient texts describing a fabled civilization of warrior women celebrated for their courage in battle.”
Horsewoman, Théodore Gericault, French, 1820 or later. Photo by Amanda Uechi Ronan.
“Manet never exhibited this painting, and no record of its original title or date has been discovered. The work most likely reflects the contemporary fascination with Spanish culture and may have been inspired by Georges Bizet’s Carmen, the opera about a woman who worked in a cigarette factory, which premiered in Paris in 1875. With a cigarette dangling from her lips, one hand on her hip, and the elbow of her other arm leaning on the back of a horse, Manet depicted this woman as someone outside the rigorously coded formality of Parisian high society. Edgar Degas bought the painting in 1896.” – The Met
Woman with a Cigarette, Edouard Manet, French, ca. 1878–80. Photo by Amanda Uechi Ronan. *I apologize for not showing the entire painting. Due to rights restrictions, this image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded. But it can be seen here.
Go riding.
Amanda Uechi Ronan is an author, equestrian, and wannabe race car driver. Follow her on Instagram @amanda_uechi_ronan.
