Pferd in Rückansicht, den Kopf nach rechts geneigt 

Curator: Let’s take a look at this intriguing drawing: “Pferd in Rückansicht, den Kopf nach rechts geneigt”—that translates to "Horse in Rear View, Head Inclined to the Right." It’s a pencil drawing on paper and can be found here at the Städel Museum. Editor: Well, immediately, I’m struck by its tentative nature. It feels like a ghost, like the memory of a horse. There's something vulnerable about the posture, with its head bowed. Curator: Absolutely, there’s a raw immediacy here. The rear view is rather unique in terms of iconographic symbols relating to horses. Typically horses represent virility, the energy of forward movement, masculine power—and by turning away from us and hanging his head, Rietschel upends that conventional reading. It introduces elements of transience. Editor: Transience... I like that. It does have a quality of fleeting observation, the kind you snatch before it disappears. Like seeing a horse across a field and knowing that in a moment, it will have moved on. The softness of the pencil work contributes to that feeling, like it could all be erased with a breath. Curator: Exactly, and consider the history of the horse in symbolic imagery. From war steeds to mythical creatures, they often carry an immense weight of cultural meaning. In reversing our expectation of what a horse should embody and represent, we can focus on this single creature’s internal experience in this single moment. The inclination of the head may imply submission to nature. Or weariness from work. Editor: I think so. The drawing asks us to bring ourselves to the animal, to empathize. Maybe this horse doesn't need to be a symbol. He can just...be. He seems world-weary and thoughtful. Perhaps like each of us feels, at the end of a long day, weighed down by existence. Curator: It invites reflection, certainly. And given the medium, the subtle textures coaxed out of a simple pencil on paper, it prompts me to look backward at the way humans and animals have evolved together, how they labor together, how we each carry each other’s histories on our very forms. Editor: I'll carry the image of this particular horse and his weariness with me today. A reminder to be gentle with all creatures, including myself.