Omnipresent in 19th-century France, the horse was portrayed in every manner and style by all types of artists. The French Horse from Géricault to Picasso: Works from the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts explores this subject in detail, with major paintings, sculptures, and works on paper by artists as diverse as Pablo Picasso, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Antoine-Louis Barye, Edgar Degas, Théodore Géricault, and others representing every major movement in French art from Romanticism to Fauvism. Featuring more than 40 works, this VMFA statewide exhibition draws from the museum’s collections including the Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Mellon.
The French Horse from Géricault to Picasso is the outcome of an innovative course team-taught this fall by Dr. Mitchell Merling, Paul Mellon Curator and Head of the European Art Department at VMFA; Jeffrey Allison, Paul Mellon Educator and Manager of VMFA Statewide Programs and Exhibitions; and Richard Waller, Executive Director, University of Richmond Museums; with course assistant Kristie Couser, Curatorial Assistant for the Mellon Collection, VMFA. Students participating in the intercollegiate seminar were from Randolph-Macon College, the University of Richmond, the University of Virginia, the University of Mary Washington, and Virginia Commonwealth University. Participating students will present their research at the opening symposium at the University of Richmond on March 2.
Exhibition Venues
Mar 3–Apr 25, 2016
University of Richmond Joel and Lila Harnett Museum of Art
May 6–July 31, 2016
The National Sporting Library & Museum, Middleburg
September 1–October 9, 2016
University of Mary Washington, Fredericksburg