Grey Gelding 2003

Lucian Freud’s oil painting, Grey Gelding, focuses on the materiality and form of a horse's head. The composition is dominated by the horse, filling the frame and leaving little space for the background which is dark and wooden. Notice the heavy impasto and visible brushstrokes that build the horse's form and texture. Freud’s application of paint transforms the animal into a sculptural object. The artist is less concerned with idealised representation, than with exploring the physicality of both subject and medium. The horse’s solid presence is made up of brushstrokes, layering whites, greys and yellows, questioning how meaning is constructed through representation. The harness cuts across the serene expression of the animal. The formal tension asks us to consider the horse's existence through the systems we place upon it. As you reflect on the image, consider how Freud's technique transforms the horse from an object of beauty to a study of materiality and existence.