Sketch of a Horse Facing Right and a Caricature in Profile 1818 - 1819

Théodore Géricault sketched this horse and caricature in profile with graphite on paper. The horse, an age-old symbol of power, freedom, and untamed nature, gallops through the collective memory of humankind, echoing from the steeds of ancient Greek friezes to the chargers of Renaissance battle scenes. Yet, here, the horse is captured not in triumphant glory but in a simple sketch, almost as if Géricault sought to capture the essence of its spirit rather than its physical form. Consider the rearing horses in Delacroix's "Liberty Leading the People," where the horse embodies revolutionary fervor, or the horses from the Apocalyptic visions of ancient tapestries. The very act of sketching—capturing the fleeting moment—mirrors our own attempts to grasp the transient nature of life. Just as the horse's image has evolved across millennia, so too does our interpretation shift with each viewing. This is the power of the image: its ability to resurface, transformed, yet forever tethered to its origins.