Joseph Seymour Guy (1824 - 1910) was an English representational painter born in Greenwich, England. He is known primarily for his paintings of children. Though he can be overly sentimental in his approach, I do like some of his work, especially this equestrian portrait. I thought it appropriate for a day on which The Preakness will be run.
In my view, the rendering of the horse dazzles. Horses are extraordinarily difficult to draw or paint well. I love this portrait. The juxtaposition of the tiny girl sitting astride this magnificent creature is wonderful to behold.
Not much info on Joseph Seymour Guy online, but here's a link to a few facts about the artist.
(Obviously, I'm having trouble once again formatting my posts. Google Blogger is acting up yet again. When will this torment end?)
I love the sheen of the horse's coat.
ReplyDeleteRyna: Yes. A gorgeous creature captured brilliantly.
ReplyDeleteHorses are among the most beautiful animals on this planet.
ReplyDeleteI just look at the PBS documentary about Cloud, a wild horse, at different stages of his life, and am taken aback by the beauty of the horses. When they run wild and jump up and whinny, one can just see the joy of life in their actions.
Kathy: I saw that documentary the first time around a few years ago. A gorgeous documentary.
ReplyDeleteYes, horses are are God made when He was paying attention. (Or so I like to say.)
If you want to see a film where a horses is photographed spectacularly, I recommend THE BLACK STALLION. The cinematographer was Caleb Deschanel who is a master.
Oh, no, but there is abuse, mistreatment and tragedy in that book and movie. I stay away from this about animals, as it's too sad. And I get too angry seeing people mistreat animals.
ReplyDeleteThe film version of THE BLACK STALLION has very little of that. It is a beautiful work of art.
ReplyDeleteI don't want to rain on anyone's parade, but if you love horses and if you loved the PBS program on Cloud, go to www.thecloudfoundation.org to find out more about wild horses in America. You should know that OUR government is using OUR tax dollars to eradicate these beautiful and federally protected horses. Tens of thousands of letters, faxes, e-mails, phone calls to the president and legislators hasn't stopped it. And while you're doing that, you might want to find out what happens to race horses when they stop winning. Why do we call ourselves 'humans' when we so often fail to be 'humane'?
ReplyDeleteJoan: I know this sort of horrible thing goes on, I've signed enough petitions fearing it wouldn't do much good. But there ARE humane horse owners, even in racing. Many race horses do go on to be adopted in retirement. I love horses so much that I find it thrilling to see them doing what can do best - running. It's a terribly cruel world filled with hardship and inequity, but I don't think it helps to ignore beauty where we can find it.
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