Lot Essay
Lorenz Eitner in a letter dated 2 October 1996 confirmed the attribution on the basis of a photograph and dated the drawing to around 1821.
The present drawing is possibly a study for the central horse of The Beer Cart in a Brewery Yard which was given by Géricault to Dr. Biett, his physician who helped him in the final phase of his life, L. Eitner, Géricault, His Life and Work, London, 1983, pp. 205-6, pl. 32. Lorenz Eitner suggests that the picture was painted in April 1820, before Géricault left for England, and was given to Dr. Biett in 1823-4, during the artist's last illness. However Clément places the picture just before the Raft of the Medusa, towards the begining of 1818. The position of the horse in the picture is different from that in the present drawing, although the details of the harness are identical in both works. The drawing is possibly a study from life that was later used for the picture.
Professor Eitner also pointed out the connection of the drawing with the lithograph of the Woodcutter, dated 1821, Delteil 28.
The present drawing is possibly a study for the central horse of The Beer Cart in a Brewery Yard which was given by Géricault to Dr. Biett, his physician who helped him in the final phase of his life, L. Eitner, Géricault, His Life and Work, London, 1983, pp. 205-6, pl. 32. Lorenz Eitner suggests that the picture was painted in April 1820, before Géricault left for England, and was given to Dr. Biett in 1823-4, during the artist's last illness. However Clément places the picture just before the Raft of the Medusa, towards the begining of 1818. The position of the horse in the picture is different from that in the present drawing, although the details of the harness are identical in both works. The drawing is possibly a study from life that was later used for the picture.
Professor Eitner also pointed out the connection of the drawing with the lithograph of the Woodcutter, dated 1821, Delteil 28.