Staand paard naar rechts gewend 1565 - 1630

Antonio Tempesta made this etching of a standing horse facing right some time between 1570 and 1630. Consider the public role of images like this in early modern Europe. At this time, the horse had long been an important symbol of status and power in European culture and the military. The printing press had also made images of horses, such as this one, much more widely accessible. Tempesta was Italian, but he worked in various artistic centers, where different institutions existed for training artists in the depiction of animals and the natural world. In looking at the image, one may wonder what purposes it might have served. Was it simply decorative, or was it intended as a model for other artists? Did it serve to promote certain ideas about breeding or horsemanship? These are the kinds of questions we can address through careful archival research, looking at prints, drawings, and instructional manuals from the period. Approaching the image in this way helps us to understand its significance within the broader social and institutional context of its time.