Medium Oil on panel Year 1882 | Artist Edgar Degas | |
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Dimensions 26.4 cm × 34.9 cm (10.4 in × 13.7 in) Location The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore Edgar Degas artwork At the Races in the Count, The Millinery Shop, After the Bath - Woman d, A Cotton Office in New Orle, At the Milliner's | ||
Before the race by edgar degas
Impressionist painter, Edgar Degas, began painting scenes with horses in the 1860s, including Before the Race (1882–84).
Contents
History
Horse racing became a popular pastime in 19th century France under Louis-Philippe and Napoleon III. Degas began admiring horses while visiting friends in Normandy. Over the course of his career it is reported that he created 45 oils, 20 pastels, 250 drawings, and 17 sculptures related to horses. Degas was eager to know horses in anatomical detail. As a student, Degas had filled his notebooks with drawings of horses. During a tour of breeding farms with Paul Valpincon and after exposure to horse races, Degas appreciated the movement of the horses and the colors of the jockeys uniforms. He wanted to make his paintings seem spontaneous as if he'd captured a passing moment. Before the Race is one of three identically titled paintings from the early 1880s. During this time Degas was reported to have a full sized stuffed horse in his studio. This version is part of the collection of The Walters Art Museum, the other two are part of the collections of Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute and the Mrs. John Hay Whitney Collection.
Analysis
Of the three versions, the Walters' painting most closely resembles a sketch. The setting of the painting is barely suggested and the pigments are thinly applied.
Off the Wall
A reproduction ofBefore the Race was being featured in Off the Wall, an open-air exhibition on the streets of Baltimore, Maryland in 2013/2014. It was displayed at the Horse You Came in on Saloon. The original is part of The Walters Art Museum collection, The National Gallery in London began the concept of bringing art out of doors in 2007 and the Detroit Institute of Art introduced the concept in the U.S.. The Off the Wall reproductions of the Walters' paintings are done on weather-resistant vinyl and include a description of the painting and a QR code for smart phones.