7IO 



THE PAINTER'S HORSE. 



thousand years ago, horses depicted with a nearer approach 

 to truth both in form and action (Fig. 649). Meissonier 

 drew horses with marvellous correctness, as we may see 

 in his ''Napoleon i^'" " (Fig. 650), and in " 1814 " (Fig. 

 651). He was attentive to truth in the proportions of his 

 horses, and was also singularly happy in catching the 

 character of different classes and breeds ; for instance, 



Fig. 649. — Horse and Rider in the Parthenon. 



compare (leaving out the question of attitude) the Arab 

 horse in Fig. 650 with that in Fig. 340. 



Some represent ,the walk by the action of the trot. 

 Even Gericault gave the movements of the amble for 

 those of the walk, as Duhousset shows us in Le Cheval. 

 A well-known English artist drew a picture of Napoleon's 

 charger, Marengo (Fig. 652), balancing himself on a fore 

 and hind leg of the same side ! Artists of the present time 

 have no excuse for similar lapses into error ; for they have 

 the results of the researches of Marey, Muybridge, An- 

 schiitz, and other authorities to guide them. Photo- 



