The Defeat of Crazy Horse 1901

Frederic Remington created this painting depicting the defeat of Crazy Horse in 1877 using oil on canvas. The composition is dominated by two potent symbols: the tepees standing for the indigenous way of life and the fallen horse, an archetypal symbol across cultures and eras. The prone horse is a symbol of loss, a motif we observe echoing through time. Consider the warhorses in ancient Greek friezes collapsing under the weight of battle, or the defeated steeds in Renaissance depictions of fallen empires. Here, the horse is not just an animal; it is the loss of freedom and the crushing of a culture embodied. It triggers a deep-seated emotional response, a collective memory of defeat and despair. This cyclical imagery reminds us that history never truly ends but resurfaces. Like a recurring dream, the symbols shift, but the underlying human experience remains.