120 THE HORSE. 



double what is possible for a man of high stature. We 

 have ascertained that the leg of a man of i meter 80 

 centimeters, that is to say a tall man, with long stirrups 

 under the stomach of an animal of 60 centimeters, only 

 exceeds by the height of the instep. The stirrup is but 

 rarely found entirely detached from the profile of the 

 inferior curve of the abdomen (see in fig. 44 the repre- 

 sentation of the error pointed out). 



The painter Gros, pupil of David, had the independ- 

 ence to quit the mythological scenes of the Greeks and 

 Romans. Military subjects were not lacking to display 

 his talent as a great artist. 



Having early commenced to draw horses, he especially 

 painted the beautiful Arab horse, with brilliant and soft 

 silky coat, of which the more natural aspect was shown, 

 a little later, by Horace Vernet in his fine series of 

 African pictures. 



Gros had already all the qualities of a talent which 

 really came up to that of the most illustrious of his time, 

 and was labouring far from the beaten tracks, when, at 

 Rouen, was born Gericault who, whilst having a profound 

 admiration for this master, constrained himself to look at 

 nature from a yet bolder and more realistic point of 

 view. 



From the time of his admission as a student his 

 passion for the horse dominated everything ; the youth, 

 hardly free from scholastic studies, presented himself 

 before Carl Vernet, the renowned equestrian painter. 

 His early experience quickly showed him the erroneous 

 interpretation under which his master only admitted the 

 dryness of a single horse model through pretext of 

 elegance. 



Gericault felt himself naturally disposed towards the 

 reproduction of a vigorous type possessed of the breadth 

 necessary for violent efforts ; it was thus that he drew 

 the horse in numerous sketches until his visit to England ; 

 there he learnt to slightly elongate the form and to draw 

 the withers in a less exaggerated manner, without any 

 detriment to the inherent qualities ; the horse was always 

 animated, courageous and ready for the struggle. 



Now that I have shown Gericault in all his artistic 

 energy for the sake of his merit it is necessary to analyse 



