It’s easy to be romantic about horses. To be poetic and sentimental, to
extoll their nobility, their grace, their courage. For that, see Warhorse (in
cinemas now). For a refreshing and realistic view of the relationship between
humans, horses, and art, go to current RHA exhibition The Horse Show.
At some point, it seems that most artists will be drawn to depicting
a horse in some way - the sinews, the muscles, the bones - it's like life
drawing, on steroids. The most striking thing about the work is the inescapable
feeling of the sheer power of the animal, the muscular bulk filling the space.
It reminds us of the constantly remarkable fact that they allow us to treat
them like pets, though they can fell us with the flick of a hind leg.
I was
wary of this exhibition, because I am a life-long lover of horses and of
'classical' paintings of them. This, I feared, would involve a lot of
post-whatever disassembling and dissecting and uglifying of something that is
only ever beautiful. But it doesn't. It's a collection of work that seems
always honest in its portrayal of the horse and indicative of each artist's
relationship, whether deep or fleeting, with the animal.
The Horse Show at RHA Galleries II & III until March 25th.
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