Officer of the Chasseurs

Officer of the Chasseurs Commanding a Charge, Géricault

Géricault painted this painting when he was only 20 years old. They say that the painter was inspired by a horse that he observed in Saint-Germain, and also by other artists such as Rubens, Vernet, and Gros. The rider is inspired by one of his friends, the cavalry lieutenant Alexandre Dieudonné.

In the picture, there are two main characters that we have to analyze: the horse and the rider. The horse is a gray horse jumping in front of an obstacle, with his eyes open for fear and at the same time his nose dilated by emotion. If you look closely, the sky is divided into two parts, twilight and fire, along the same diagonal marked by the ascending shape of the horse. The rider stands firm in his saddle, without blinking.

It seems that the officer is giving an order for the movement of the sword. We see him watching his troops and he is probably talking to them, however, it is not clear where his gaze is going.