Liggend paard, op de rug gezien 1775 - 1833

Jean Bernard sketched this ‘Lying Horse, seen from the back,’ using pen in brown, around the late 18th century. The exhausted animal lies prone on the ground, its back towards us, exuding a sense of utter stillness. Consider the horse across centuries of art: from the majestic steeds of classical sculpture to the warhorses of medieval tapestries. The motif of a reclining horse, evoking both vulnerability and latent power, recurs in varied forms. Think of the horses from the Parthenon frieze, or the traumatized horses in Picasso’s Guernica, where the animal is used as a canvas to explore the emotional landscape of suffering and endurance. Here, the horse's stillness and the simple lines stir a sense of empathy, engaging our subconscious understanding of exhaustion and the quiet surrender to rest. The enduring image of the horse, in all its contexts, captures something profound about the human condition itself.