Details
The image
A horse and rider drawn in profile, the animal’s neck arched and its legs gathered under the body, the rider’s hands low and still. The ground is suggested by a single band of colour and the crowd by a few strokes above it, so the pair reads as the only solid thing on the sheet.
Where it comes from
Equestrian posters of the mid-century were usually made by painters rather than by advertising studios, which is why they look at the anatomy and not at the spectacle. The rider’s seat is observed, the horse is drawn from the shoulder back rather than from the head out, and the crowd is left loose because the painter knew where the knowledge ended. Switzerland held competitions through the war years, and the sheets that announced them kept the tone of a sporting programme rather than of a celebration.
On the wall
It suits a study, a hallway or a living room with warm furniture, where a figure in movement gives the wall direction. Because the composition is horizontal and the palette limited, it holds a wide wall without weight. In a group it should be the piece that introduces movement.
In company
A second sheet from the Vintage collection will balance it rather than compete.Avoid hanging it beside a second horse, where two profiles would read as a catalogue rather than as a picture.
