Ruiter te paard met een driekantensteek 1839 - 1890

John-Lewis Brown created this etching of a horse and rider, titled ‘Ruiter te paard met een driekantensteek’, sometime between 1829 and 1890. Brown, who lived through the transformative shifts of 19th-century Europe, presents us here with a figure that could be read as a relic of the past. The rider, with his tricorne hat, evokes a sense of 18th-century aristocracy, a class whose power was waning during Brown's lifetime. Is this a nostalgic look back, or a commentary on the changing social order? Consider the horse, too – often a symbol of power and virility. Yet here, it seems almost delicate, its lines finely drawn, its strength understated. What does it mean to portray these traditional symbols of authority with such subtlety? In Brown’s delicate rendering, we might find a reflection on the shifting sands of identity and power.