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French artist Gustave Moreau painted this dramatic equestrian scene around 1852-1854, early in his career when Romanticism still dominated French art. A rider on a powerful horse rears against a turbulent sky, the composition clearly inspired by Eugène Delacroix. The work captures the energy and emotional intensity Moreau admired in his predecessor.
Moreau would later become the leading Symbolist painter, known for mythological subjects and jewel-like surfaces. But this early work shows his Romantic roots. Pierre-Joseph Dedreux-Dorcy encouraged the young painter to study horses, and Moreau produced several equestrian works during this period. The painting now hangs at the Musée Gustave Moreau in Paris.

Gustave Moreau
Musée National Gustave Moreau, Paris, Paris

Gustave Moreau
Musée National Gustave Moreau, Paris, Paris

Gustave Moreau
Musée National Gustave Moreau, Paris, Paris

Gustave Moreau
Musée National Gustave Moreau, Paris, Paris
Other masterpieces from the Symbolism movement

Gustav Klimt, 1912
Neue Galerie, New York

Gustav Klimt, 1909
MAK Vienna, Vienna

Gustav Klimt, 1907
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

Gustav Klimt, 1915
Belvedere Museum, Vienna

Gustav Klimt, 1908
Belvedere Museum, Vienna

Gustav Klimt, 1907
Private Collection, Unknown

Akseli Gallen-Kallela
Finnish National Gallery, Helsinki, Helsinki

Akseli Gallen-Kallela
Finnish National Gallery, Helsinki, Helsinki
Luxury wall art with the same mood and energy. Gallery-quality canvas, no museum crowds.
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