Six Sketches of a Chasseur Beside His Horse 1813 - 1814

Théodore Géricault's "Six Sketches of a Chasseur Beside His Horse" is a series of six sketches depicting a mounted chasseur, a type of light cavalry soldier, created in 1813 - 1814. This quick and energetic drawing is a preparatory study for Géricault's monumental oil painting "The Charging Chasseur" (now in the Louvre) which is considered one of the artist's most important works. Géricault used these sketches to perfect the pose and anatomy of the soldier and his horse. The work is on view at the Art Institute of Chicago.