Horse portraits from a photo, in the tradition of Stubbs

No animal has been painted more seriously than the horse. For centuries horses were the most valuable animals a family owned, and owners paid the best painters to record them: their colour, their build, their stance and their character. George Stubbs spent eighteen months dissecting horses before he published his Anatomy of the Horse in 1766, and nobody has painted them better since.

The ten paintings below are the masterworks behind Fable’s horse portrait styles. Order any of them as a print, or send a photo of your own horse to the style and see a free preview of it painted the same way.

1. A Grey Horse galloping in a field

George Stubbs, A Grey Horse galloping in a field, 1793. Oil on canvas.

Late in his life Stubbs painted a grey horse at full gallop across an English field. Every muscle is right, because Stubbs knew the horse from the bones out. It is the style for a horse in motion.

Best photo: your horse cantering or galloping side on, or standing with energy in a field.

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2. Bay Hunter by a Lake

George Stubbs, Bay Hunter by a Lake, 1787. Oil on canvas. Tate, London.

A bay hunter stands quietly by a lake under a leaning tree, in the soft light of an English evening. This is the classic Stubbs portrait: one horse, in profile, at peace, described with total accuracy.

Best photo: your horse standing square, side on, in daylight.

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3. Head of a white horse

Théodore Géricault, Head of a white horse, c. 1815. Oil on canvas. Musée du Louvre, Paris.

Géricault loved horses all his life and died after a fall from one. His white horse’s head comes out of the dark like a portrait of a person, the eye dark and expressive. It now hangs in the Louvre.

Best photo: a close-up of your horse’s head, in side light.

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4. The Grey Horse

Philips Wouwerman, The Grey Horse, 1646. Oil on canvas. Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam.

Philips Wouwerman was so famous for his grey horses that Dutch collectors looked for one in every picture. This one, in the Rijksmuseum, stands saddled on a country path beside a figure holding the reins and a small dog.

Best photo: your horse saddled, with you or a handler standing beside it.

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5. The "Piebald" Horse

Paulus Potter, The "Piebald" Horse, c. 1650–1654. Oil on canvas. J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles.

Paulus Potter died at twenty-eight but left some of the finest animal paintings of the Dutch Golden Age. His piebald horse stands in profile under a huge sky, its patches of brown and white as distinctive as a fingerprint.

Best photo: a coloured, spotted or skewbald horse, standing side on.

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6. Horsewoman (Amazon)

Alfred de Dreux, Horsewoman (Amazon), 1848. Oil on canvas.

Alfred de Dreux painted the horses of the French court. His horsewoman sits sidesaddle on a white horse in a dark wood, perfectly poised. It is the style for a rider and her horse together.

Best photo: you on your horse, side on, in good light.

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7. Horses in freedom

Alfred de Dreux, Horses in freedom, c. 1850. Oil on canvas. Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes, Buenos Aires.

Another de Dreux, now in Buenos Aires: horses loose in open country, a bay standing proud in front. It is the style for a horse who loves the field more than the stable.

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8. Horses in a Thunderstorm

Sawrey Gilpin, Horses in a Thunderstorm, 1798. Oil on canvas. Royal Academy of Arts, London.

Sawrey Gilpin gave this dramatic picture to the Royal Academy when he was elected. Horses panic as lightning splits the sky. For a horse with spirit, it is pure drama.

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9. Marengo

James Ward, Marengo, 1824. Oil on canvas.

Marengo was Napoleon’s own grey Arab horse. Captured after Waterloo, he spent his last years in England, where James Ward painted him in 1824, mane flying, under a stormy sky. A portrait of a legendary horse.

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10. Turkish Horse in a Stable

Théodore Géricault, Turkish Horse in a Stable, 1811. Oil on canvas. Musée du Louvre, Paris.

Géricault again, this time a dark bay Turkish horse in a stable, its glossy coat caught by the light. A quiet, intimate portrait, for a horse at home.

Best photo: your horse in its stable or by the door, in side light.

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For a horse portrait, the photo matters more than for any other animal, because so much of the character is in the stance. Photograph your horse standing square, side on, in daylight, with the head slightly raised and the ears forward. A grey or white horse suits Géricault and Wouwerman; a bay or chestnut suits Stubbs. For the history of horses in painting, read our guide to famous horse paintings.

Questions

What photo works best for a horse portrait?

A side-on photo of the horse standing square on level ground, taken in daylight from about the height of the shoulder, with the ears forward. A head-and-neck photo works for close-up styles such as Géricault’s Head of a White Horse.

Can I have a rider in the portrait?

Yes. The style after Alfred de Dreux’s Horsewoman shows a rider, and Wouwerman’s The Grey Horse includes a figure holding the reins. Send a photo with both horse and rider.

Who is the greatest horse painter?

George Stubbs is generally considered the greatest, followed by Théodore Géricault in France. In the Dutch Golden Age, Philips Wouwerman and Paulus Potter were famous for their horses.

Is a horse portrait a good gift?

For anyone who rides or owns a horse, it is one of the most personal gifts there is. You can see a free preview before you buy.