Artwork
Le Coursier (The Race Horse)
Le Coursier (The Race Horse) is an ink print by the Impressionist artist Odilon Redon. It dates from 1894 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
About this work
Overview
Odilon Redon’s 1894 lithograph, Le Coursier (The Race Horse), presents a solitary equine head rendered in profile. Executed on heavy wove paper with a chine appliqué backing, the image captures the animal’s mane in a tangled, untamed fashion, emphasizing a sense of kinetic energy despite the static medium.
Subject & Meaning
The work isolates the horse’s visage, focusing on the stark contrast between the darkened eye sockets and nostrils and the surrounding mane. This concentration on the animal’s intense gaze and wild hair suggests an exploration of raw vitality and the untamed spirit often associated with racing horses, inviting viewers to sense motion within stillness.
Technique & Style
Redon employed a lithographic process that foregrounds rough, uneven lines reminiscent of hurried sketches. The marks are deliberately scratchy, lacking the smoothness of finished drawing, which imparts an urgent, almost improvisational quality. The chiaroscuro of deep shadows within the facial features heightens the dramatic tension of the composition.
Context
Created during the late nineteenth century, the piece aligns with Redon’s broader interest in symbolist themes and experimental printmaking.
Created during the late nineteenth century, the piece aligns with Redon’s broader interest in symbolist themes and experimental printmaking. While lithography was commonly used for reproducible images, Redon’s approach here subverts the medium’s typical polish, using it instead to convey immediacy and emotional intensity, reflecting contemporary artistic currents that favored expressive, non‑academic techniques.
Own this work as a print
Artist & collection
Artist
Born Bertrand-Jean Redon on 20 April 1840 in Bordeaux, the artist adopted the name Odilon from his mother, Marie-Odile.
