Cuirassier à cheval chargeant 

Editor: Here we have “Cuirassier à cheval chargeant,” a pencil drawing by Théodore Géricault. The furious energy is palpable even in this quick sketch, I feel. I am also intrigued by his backward point of view of the subject. How do you interpret the choices that the artist made? Curator: Oh, absolutely, a charge seen from behind, quite unconventional! It feels almost like we're being left behind, witnessing the back of heroism disappearing into the fray. I wonder, does this say something about glory? About what gets left unsaid, unseen? Or is it maybe that the artist did this drawing from his own sketchbook and not necessarily with public consumption in mind? Editor: That’s a very interesting point about public versus private! The absence of a specific background enhances the figure of the rider on the horse in contrast to an historical war. What do you think of this tension between specificity and ambiguity? Curator: Precisely! And isn't that delicious? The specificity in the figure’s attire, that plumed helmet, juxtaposed with the indeterminate space. Perhaps Géricault wanted to tap into the universal feeling of… what shall we call it, martial abandon? Or simply that itch, that artistic desire to capture something fleeting, something burning? A kind of… kinetic fever? Editor: Kinetic fever… I like that! It does make me wonder what else was on his mind when he chose that very specific composition and pose. Curator: What do *you* think he might have been exploring, as a fellow creative? Editor: It feels like an emotional truth of battle. That fleeting glimpse… almost cinematic! Curator: Cinema avant la lettre! Yes, capturing that raw feeling. A glimpse. What a fantastic way to view that sketch! I will remember that next time I look at it!