Etude de jockey

Although Degas had begun painting horses in the 1850s, it was only after 1861 that his near obsessive fascination with the world of the jockeys and horse racing was born. Until his visit to Ménil-Hubert, the Norman chateau of fellow artist and friend Paul Valpinçon, Degas' depictions of horses tended to feature only in his copies of old master works and in his mythological scenes. However, on his visit to Ménil-Hubert, he visited the stud farm at Haras-le-Pin and was evidently struck by the new side of the equestrian world to which he was introduced. His notebooks and sketches were immediately filled with scenes of jockeys and their mounts, and within a short time he was producing a whole series of paintings of races and riders. In the present work Degas focusses primarily on the figure of the jockey and perfectly captures the poise and even comfort of the mounted man, with the reins draped languidly from his hands, effortlessly rendering the subject in a few simple strokes.