Twee studies van paardenhoofden 1835

Pieter Frederik van Os made these two studies of horses’ heads using graphite. The animal portrait was a popular genre in the Netherlands and Western Europe, where equine subjects allowed artists to showcase their skills in anatomical accuracy, while also alluding to wealth and status through associations with breeding, racing, hunting, and military power. The rise of equestrian portraiture coincides with the development of academies, such as the Royal Academy in London or the Académie royale de peinture et de sculpture in France. These institutions supported the arts and promoted the idea of “high art”, based on anatomical precision and the study of classical forms. The drawings allowed artists to practice their skills in representing animal anatomy and musculature, honing their craft to meet the institutional standards of the art world. In our own time, it is important to remember that the meaning of art is always contingent on its historical and institutional context, and that to truly understand a work of art we need to investigate its relationship to the society and culture in which it was made.