Study for a Horse's Head 1645 - 1655

Baldassarre Franceschini, also known as il Volterrano, made this red chalk drawing of a horse’s head in 17th-century Italy. It is a study, probably for a larger painting, and it gives us a glimpse into the artistic process of the time. The image's meaning is shaped by the cultural importance of horses in Early Modern Europe. Horses were associated with wealth, power, and the aristocracy. Volterrano, who served as court artist for the Medici family in Florence, would have been very familiar with the magnificent steeds kept in the Medici stables, and would have been expected to portray these animals in ways that reinforced the family’s authority. In Renaissance and Baroque art, the skilled depiction of horses was used to signify status and assert political dominance. As art historians, we examine drawings like this for clues about the culture and institutions that shaped their creation. We study inventories of aristocratic collections, records of artistic training, and other historical documents to learn more about the social context of art.