A Chestnut Racehorse

This piece by George Stubbs is a fine art oil on canvas painting measuring 61 by 70.2 cm. It is considered to be in the genre of Animal Paintings and in the Romanticism style. It has also been described as A Chestnut Horse in a Landscape.

The painting A Chestnut Racehorse is in a private collection, and is one of Stubbs' iconic horse paintings for which he is best known, he is one of the most famous painters of animals, and especially horses, of all times. The picture depicts a slim and elegant racehorse, likely to be a Thoroughbred or Arabian, and is a gelding or stallion The horse is standing by a tree, free and unfettered, he has his ears back, suggesting that he is anxious or unhappy, or possibly listening to something. The horse bears a scars on his muzzle, including a deep patch without hair, as if the bridle has cut him during races, he is standing uneasily, with tension depicted in his legs, body and eyes.

The horse is named as chestnut by the picture's title, he is close to bay in colour, and has dark points and white 'socks' on his back legs. His tail is cut short, to aid with his speed and movement during races. His mane is mainly blown over the opposite side to the side shown by the picture. He looks in good condition, with a gleaming coat and muscular with no fat or extra weight, but thin for a racehorse by today's standards. The background and surroundings in the painting include an old white coloured tree with algae on it beside the horse, the tree's foliage suggests willow.There is either another tree or offshoots of the same tree behind it. On the ground near the tree are ferns and longer grasses.

The landscape that the horse is in, is rolling fields with trees and hedge as a border. Beyond the trees is the suggestion of a lake or possibly more fields with frost. The sky above the scene is light grey and white cloud, with patches of blue showing through. The painter, George Stubbs, Aug 25, 1724 - Jul 10, 1806, was an English artist with an inimitable skill in depicting lifelike but romantically enhanced horses in paintings. He wasn't taken seriously and considered to be a sporting artist, but now his horse painting are highly valued and unmatched bu other artists The date of his painting A Chestnut Racehorse is unknown.