''The 1821 Derby at Epsom'', or ''Horse Race'' (''Course de chevaux'', traditionally called ''Le Derby de 1821 à Epsom'') is an 1821 painting by

Théodore Géricault Jean-Louis André Théodore Géricault (; 26 September 1791 – 26 January 1824) was a French painter and lithographer, whose best-known painting is ''The Raft of the Medusa''. Although he died young, he was one of the pioneers of the Romantic ...

in the

Louvre Museum The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is the world's most-visited museum, and an historic landmark in Paris, France. It is the home of some of the best-known works of art, including the ''Mona Lisa'' and the ''Venus de Milo''. A central l ...

, showing The Derby of that year. Fascinated by horses, Géricault made many paintings portraying them. Working for a while at the imperial stables at

Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; french: Château de Versailles ) is a former royal residence built by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, about west of Paris, France. The palace is owned by the French Republic and since 1995 has been managed, u ...

, he had the opportunity to study them in detail and made numerous portraits of horses. Other paintings of horses by Géricault include '' Officer Hunter Horse of the Imperial Guard Charging'' (1812) and ''Race of Free Horses in Rome'' (1819). This work is a rare and valuable example of painting dated from his travel in England, when Géricault preferred to work in

lithography Lithography () is a planographic method of printing originally based on the immiscibility of oil and water. The printing is from a stone (lithographic limestone) or a metal plate with a smooth surface. It was invented in 1796 by the German a ...

. It was painted for the English horse dealer Adam Elmore. The race itself was won by Gustavus, becoming the first

grey Grey (more common in British English) or gray (more common in American English) is an intermediate color between black and white. It is a neutral or achromatic color, meaning literally that it is "without color", because it can be composed o ...

to win the race. The painting was acquired by the

Musée du Louvre The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is the world's most-visited museum, and an historic landmark in Paris, France. It is the home of some of the best-known works of art, including the ''Mona Lisa'' and the ''Venus de Milo''. A central l ...

in 1866.Cartelfr.louvre.fr
Retrieved June 3, 2009 The position of the horses' legs in the painting - with both front and hind legs extended outwards while airborne - is never actually exhibited by a galloping horse. This was conclusively demonstrated by

Eadweard Muybridge Eadweard Muybridge (; 9 April 1830 – 8 May 1904, born Edward James Muggeridge) was an English photographer known for his pioneering work in photographic studies of motion, and early work in motion-picture projection. He adopted the first ...

in 1878, with high-speed photography showing that galloping horses are airborne when their legs are beneath the body, just before the hind legs touch ground.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1821 Derby of Epsom Paintings by Théodore Géricault 1821 paintings Paintings in the Louvre by French artists Horses in art Sports paintings