Projet 1 painting description

Equestrian Portrait of Count Stainislas Potocki 1781

 

The painting I chose is titled Equestrian Portrait of Count Stainislas Potocki. It was painted by Jacques-Louis David in the year 1781. The subject of the painting is the Prime Minister of Poland and a writer. The medium is oil on canvas and is around 120in x 86in. This painting was painted in Rome. It has been passed to the Branicki family and looted by German Soldiers. Now, It is currently on display at the Museum of King John III’s palace in Wilanow, Warsaw. In the painting, Potocki is shown riding a horse while the horse is getting taunted by a dog that is partially off screen. I chose this painting because it looks like everything is going to go wrong soon. The horse isn’t calm due to the dog and has a pretty interesting and dynamic pose because of it. The shiny blue and gold saddle really stands out among the rest of the colors and so does the rest of the horse’s tack. The horse’s mane and tail look very detailed and well taken care of. I do not know if the painter used a reference or painted it from his imagination, but the color scheme of the horse looks nice in general.