Description
Edgar Degas’s Head of a Horse brings the animal’s long profile close to the viewer. The muzzle points left, its darker shading contrasting with lighter passages across the head and neck. The mane appears above the cropped neck at the right. Removed from a crowded course or a dramatic action, the horse becomes worthy of attention in its own right, through the particular forms that give its head a convincing presence.
Drawn in graphite around 1878, the work shows how a small sheet can hold a focused investigation of form. Pencil allows Degas to move between delicate indications and more definite structure without turning the subject into a finished scene. The drawing invites us to look at the horse as an animal with a distinctive physical presence. Its interest lies in observation rather than spectacle, giving a familiar subject renewed clarity.
Read our guide to giclée prints or browse the Edgar Degas collection.
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