Horse frightened by lightning

Theodore Gericault completed this scene around 1813-14, shortly after his gold-medal success with "The Charging Chasseur" at the 1812 Salon. A dappled horse freezes in profile as lightning illuminates the upper right corner. Rather than show the more cliched image of a rearing horse, Gericault captured the animal's instinctive freeze response.

The artist brilliantly rendered the sheen of the dappled coat as lightning momentarily lights it against the near-black night sky. Using short, staccato strokes that follow the horse's contours, he created an effect of nervous energy rippling across the silky surface. Like Stubbs's work Whistlejacket, this is a portrait of a specific animal rather than a generic study.

Gericault was a keen horseman with expert understanding of equine anatomy. In 1813 he produced several oil studies at the Imperial stables at Versailles, possibly including this one. The painting influenced Delacroix, who later created the similarly named "Horse Frightened by a Storm." This work is held in a private collection.