GÉRICAULT, Théodore
(b. 1791, Rouen, d. 1824, Paris)

The Epsom Derby

1821
Oil on canvas, 92 x 122 cm
Musée du Louvre, Paris

Painted in 1821, during Géricault's stay in London, the canvas takes its inspiration from English sporting prints, which frequently depict horses at the 'flying gallop' shown by the painter here. The invention of photography, by allowing the various movements of a galloping animal to be analysed, would allow it to be painted accurately, as Degas was to do in his Race-course paintings.