Strijdwagen en achteruitslaand paard 1649

Harmen ter Borch created this dynamic drawing, "Chariot and Rearing Horse," with pen in brown ink. The immediate visual impression is one of tension and imbalance, created by the rearing horse teetering above the chariot. Borch captures a moment of instability that evokes both excitement and precariousness. The composition balances the detailed chariot at the bottom with the more freely rendered horse above. This contrast highlights the themes of control versus wildness, structure versus spontaneity. Note how the geometric precision of the chariot's wheels and the decorative pattern contrast sharply with the horse's mane, its lines suggesting raw energy. The texture of the aged paper further enhances the sense of history and the passage of time. In essence, the drawing challenges fixed meanings. The horse resists the chariot’s direction, and the artwork becomes a site of ongoing interpretation.