Stutteriheste 1822

Christian David Gebauer created this etching, Stutteriheste, which translates as Stud Horses, in Denmark. This is an image showing a group of horses with one attendant against the background of a hill. Its cultural context relates to the role of horses in Danish agriculture and transport. Horses were essential for farming, pulling carts, and military use and this may be a scene of horses in training. The image creates meaning through references to the natural world, and the social hierarchy in which humans control animals. Given the time in which Gebauer was working, we might look for the ways in which the image reinforces existing power structures and class divisions, or whether it offers any subtle critique of those norms. The social historian might study this image along with agricultural records and stud farm inventories to develop a deeper understanding of the relationship between people, animals, and the land in early 19th-century Denmark. The meaning of art is always contingent on its historical and institutional context.