Studienblatt_ Baschkiren mit ihren Pferden 

Gustav Heinrich Naeke made this study sheet of Bashkirs with their horses with pencil on paper. The arrangement appears random at first glance, but upon closer inspection, a structured approach unfolds. Naeke’s composition is carefully organized around the central figure of a rider on horseback. The structure is less about narrative and more about cataloging visual forms. Notice how the artist uses line to define form and texture. The repetition of figures and horses, rendered from different angles, suggests a systematic exploration. The various sketches are composed to fit within the frame, creating a balanced yet dynamic whole. The sheet reflects the artist’s formal interest in proportion and the anatomical rendering of figures. The use of line and form serves an analytical purpose, inviting us to see the study not merely as preparatory work but as an investigation into representation itself. In this way, the formal arrangement functions as a discourse on observation and artistic method.