Study of a Brown-Black Horse Tethered to a Wall (Primary Title)
Cheval bai-brun a l'attache (Translation)

Eugène Delacroix, French, 1798 - 1863 (Artist)

ca. 1823
French
Oil on canvas
Unframed: 20 1/2 × 28 3/8 in. (52.07 × 72.07 cm)
Framed: 27 1/4 × 35 in. (69.22 × 88.9 cm)
83.18
This painting evinces Delacroix’s reliance on rich colors and striking contrasts as the artist conveys the sheen of the horse’s brown-black coat through small flecks of white and red paint suggesting light, shade, and surface differences. The background is a thin wash of neutral color, and in numerous areas the canvas is visible, suggesting that this is a study.
Not signed. Stretcher stamped with Delacroix estate stamp.
Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Mellon
2021: Romantic Bronzes
The Mrs. Nelson L. St. Clair, Jr. Donation of Sculptures by Antoine-Louis Barye, VMFA, April 24 - August 22, 2021

2019-2020: "Van Gogh Monet Degas, The Mellon Collection of French Art from the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts", Palazzo Zabarella, Padua, Italy, October 26, 2019 - March 1, 2020

2019-2021: Van Gogh, Monet, Degas, and Their Times: The Mellon Collection of French Art from the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Frist Art Museum, Nashville, TN, February 2 - May 5, 2019; Mississippi Museum of Art, Jackson, MS, April 4, 2020 - January 10, 2021

2018: "Country Life: Masterpieces from the Mellon Collection of MVFA", Musée de la Chasse et de la Nature, Paris, France, September 4 - December 2, 2018

2018-2019: "Van Gogh, Monet, Degas: The Mellon Collection of French Art from the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts", The Frick Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, March 17 - July 15, 2018; Oklahoma Museum of Art, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, June 22 - September 22, 2019

“Equestrian Art,” Peninsula Fine Arts Center, Newport News, VA, May 2-June 17, 1985

“French Paintings from the Collections of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Mellon,” VMFA, April 4, 1967-June 5, 1968

“Delacroix,” Wildenstein & Co., London, 1952, No. 5

“Chevaux et Cavaliers,” Galerie Charpentier, 1948, No. 48
Image released via Creative Commons CC-BY-NC

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