Friday Art: Wild Horses by Rosa Bonheur (1889)

I didn’t bet the first day of the Breeders’ Cup Races today, but I’ll be handicapping and betting the final pick 6 sequence tomorrow, most likely with a pick 5 and pick 4 combo along with some bets on the 12th classic race too. The Triple Crown races get a lot more attention, but these feature the best overall horses in the world, the best up and coming prospects, and are VERY challenging to handicap.

So it’s time to flush some money away, I guess.

Rosa Bonheur was one of the better-known animal painters of the late 19th century. While well known in her native France, she found a lot more success in Britain and America, and in her late career painted settings right at home in the American west, like this one.

All we need is for John Wayne or Jimmy Stewart to walk up to that horse, talk to it a little, and then ride off to fight some bad guys. Look how she uses those different shades of brown to capture the musculature of a strong horse like that, and the way you see it reflected in the different shines of the coat. Nice purples in the sky, too. It’s a beautiful picture.

I hope my bets are as beautiful tomorrow. Tally ho!