A Jockey on His Horse

A Jockey on His Horse is a foundational work created by Edgar Degas between 1863 and 1873, capturing one of the artist's most enduring subjects: the spectacle and specialized environment of horse racing. Classified by the Metropolitan Museum of Art as a drawing, this piece utilizes oil and graphite on prepared paper, showcasing a fluid integration of drawing and painting techniques. The extended creation period reflects Degas’s characteristic practice of revisiting and refining compositions over many years, often using preliminary studies to inform larger oil paintings.

Degas was deeply interested in depicting modern Parisian leisure, and the track provided him with opportunities to study motion, light, and the dynamic tension between men and animals. This particular study focuses intensely on a seated jockey atop his powerful horse. The visible graphite lines provide immediate structure and energy, establishing the dynamic posture of the rider before the subtle washes of oil paint begin to define volume and suppressed color. Unlike his more finished canvases, this work retains the immediacy and raw energy of observation, essential to Degas’s Realist approach to capturing contemporary urban life.

During the 1860s and 1870s, the era in which this piece was developed, horse racing gained immense popularity as a social event in France, providing rich material for artists documenting the burgeoning Impressionist movement. Degas often captured these scenes from unusual angles, focusing on moments of anticipation or quiet preparation rather than the peak action. This influential piece resides in the permanent collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, where it serves as a critical example of Degas’s innovative use of mixed media and his commitment to documenting the modern world.