Egyptian Mare

The powerful lithograph Egyptian Mare was created by Théodore Géricault in 1822. This piece, classified as a print, showcases the artist’s mastery of the recently developed technique of lithography, allowing for rich tonal variation and expressive line work. Géricault, a key figure in early French Romanticism, was deeply engaged with themes of heroism, suffering, and the raw power inherent in nature.

Although renowned for his dramatic oil paintings, Géricault frequently utilized prints, specifically lithography, to explore intimate subjects, making many of his works accessible to the public domain. The subject of the horse held deep personal significance for the artist, who was an accomplished rider and dedicated much of his career to depicting the animal's muscular form and spirited temperament. This specific depiction, identifying the horse as "Egyptian," reflects the early 19th-century French fascination with exotic subjects and the growing cultural influence of Orientalism following Napoleon’s campaigns in the Near East.

The execution of Egyptian Mare uses the greasy crayon characteristic of the lithographic process to achieve dramatic contrasts, emphasizing the animal's alert posture and defined anatomy. Such high-quality prints played a significant role in disseminating Géricault's aesthetic ideas across France and Europe during the apex of Romanticism. This important example of French printmaking is housed in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art.