Roman transport wagons 1873

Giovanni Fattori created this small oil on panel painting depicting Roman transport wagons. The horse, a potent symbol in art since antiquity, appears here in various states of activity and rest, a visual representation of the cyclical nature of labor and repose. Consider how the horse, in ancient Roman art, was a symbol of power and military might. Yet, here, Fattori presents these animals in a more subdued light, their strength harnessed for everyday transport. This echoes the horses of the Parthenon frieze where they are emblems of civic duty, and the mythical horses pulling Apollo's chariot, embodying vitality and dynamism. In Fattori’s painting, the tired horse lying in the foreground speaks to the emotional toll of labor, connecting to our collective memory of burden and resilience. The horse is a powerful symbol of how our deepest emotions and historical understandings are intertwined, continuously resurfacing and evolving in new contexts.