Wouterus Verschuur Dutch, 1812-1874

The horse, which traditionally represented a favourite branch of animal painting, continued throughout the 19th century as an important and popular subject for artists. In this changing era, the horse painter symbolised, in a way, the old order: his milieu was rural rather than urban, and as the Industrial Revolution shifted the emphasis from country to town, severely squeezing agriculture in the process, animal painters were inclined to make concessions to the tastes and demands of the city. Trying to adapt their work to meet these new demands, there was a temptation to increase the emotional content and to emphasise the relationship between humans and horses.

In this painting, Wouterus Verschuur continues the tradition of animal painting as begun by Philips Wouwerman. Like his Golden Age predecessor, Verschuur celebrates the beauty of that most noble of animals, the horse. Inspired by the force and elegance of their equestrian anatomy, he depicted them in stable interiors, farmyards or fields - or, as in this painting, by a ruin, which lends the composition an extra Romantic element. The strength of the composition also lies in the focus of the humans caring for their horses. Verschuur's horses, in a way, are not just seen as a means of transportation or a cheap workforce, but more as loyal and noble animals who deserve to be depicted in all their glory.