A carthorse eating from a nosebag

Professor Lorenz Eitner has confirmed the attribution on the basis of a photograph in a fax dated 26 November 2003, commenting that it is 'a drawing of high quality from Gericault's hand'. Professor Eitner dates the drawing to 1822-3, following Gericault's return from England. The subject of a draught horse at rest, being shod or feeding greatly occupied Gericault during this period, and there are a number of comparable drawings, watercolors and lithographs. Perhaps most notable is the lithograph of Le cheval du plâtrier (The plasterer's horse: Delteil 86), since the horse in the present drawing appears also to be harnessed to a plasterer's cart.