The Yellow Riders 1885 - 1886

Editor: Here we have Breitner’s "The Yellow Riders," painted with oils sometime between 1885 and 1886. I’m immediately struck by how the impasto makes the movement of the horses and riders feel so immediate, almost like I'm in the thick of it with them. What do you see in this work? Curator: I'm drawn to how Breitner represents the labor and industry inherent in military exercises. It's not a glorification of war, but an examination of the 'means of production,' if you will, within a military context. Consider the material cost: the horses, the uniforms, the training grounds themselves. Editor: So you’re saying he’s interested in showing the nuts and bolts of the military machine, not the glory? Curator: Precisely. Think about the societal role of these soldiers: they’re not merely heroic figures, but rather a product of a complex system, trained and equipped. Look at the dirt swirling beneath the hooves. This is not pristine heroism; it's labor, it’s process. How does that materiality affect your reading of the piece? Editor: It makes me think about the repetitive, almost factory-like aspect of their drills. All that time and effort to maintain order through potential force. Does the use of yellow, though, suggest some idealised aspect to this labour? Curator: I would say the muted yellow and earth tones downplay idealisation, instead bringing out its utilitarian side. It references not grand heroic displays of colour but evokes everyday grit. Breitner is depicting a form of repetitive work and labour performed. Editor: I see your point. Looking at the impasto now, it’s not just about motion, but almost like churned earth, physically representing the labor. Curator: Exactly! He connects to how we consume images of power, drawing us to think about those images' processes of construction and materiality. Editor: That’s really changed how I see it. Thanks, that material perspective makes a lot of sense here! Curator: My pleasure. It’s through interrogating the “how” of art that we unravel the social forces shaping even what seems like straightforward depiction.