Twenty-One Horse Hindquarters, At Least Four by Théodore Géricault

Géricault’s  hindquarters from the Noailles collection are among the iconic works that capture the imagination of curators and admirers of French cultural heritage. Unsurprisingly, their export certificate was denied in June 2022, and the French government is looking for funds to give the work a home in one of the national museums. The text published in the June 30, 2022 issue of the Journal Officiel is as sensitive as it is well argued: “Although horse hindquarters have been an iconographic motif since Roman antiquity, this work stands out for its large scale, making it akin to a history painting, and for the innovative way the artist treated the subject. With great artistry, Gércault focused less on anatomy than on the variety of coats and manes and the nervousness and character of each steed. Moreover, he gave the hindquarters of each horse, arranged…