46 THEODORE GERICAULT French, 1791­1824 The Race of the Riderless Horses, 1817 Oil on paper laid on canvas 7 19.9 x 29.1 cm (7 13/16 x 11 /16 in.) 85.PC.406 In 1817, Gericault witnessed the annual carnival race of the Barberi horses down the Via del Corso, one of the major avenues of Rome. Gericault was intrigued by the artistic possibilities offered by the event, which involved grooms goading the animals into a frenzied stampede along the crowded streer. His oil sketches show how he took a contemporary scene and gradually mythologized the action, so that the starting­line grooms became nude athletes poised before a classical portico. Scholars had long been interested in trying to demonstrate how modern festivals and games preserved ancient Roman customs. However, Gericault was probably wrestling with ways of translating the excitement of the race into a classical pictorial language suitable for the Paris Salon. Gericault had already established himself as a brilliant painter of horses in motion, and here the dramatic struggle between man and beast serves as the focus of this oil sketch. The broad blocking in of forms and almost monochromatic appearance suggest that achieving tonal balance within the composition was among Gericault's chief concerns. He has successfully translated his favored medium of pen and wash into thick, swirling paint, as if he were recarving the ancient bas­relief sculpture that so influenced him. Virtuoso preparatory oil sketches were part of a French artist's academic training, but sadly, Gericault never developed this vivid scene into a grand Salon painting. DJ 84 FRENCH SCHOOL