This is a painting of a red horse standing on a patch of tan ground, tethered by a rope to a tall brown post. The horse's reddish-brown coat is rich and glossy, with white highlights. It faces the left, with its ears pricked up. One of its back legs is slightly raised. The ground behind the horse is flat, with patches of yellow ochre, brown, and dark green. The sky above is a mix of blue tones, with light blue near the horizon and darker blue-green at the top of the painting. The brushstrokes in the painting are thick and visible.

Gallery mode Full size at the museum

A Horse Hitched to a Post

painter Eugène Delacroix (French, 1798 - 1863)

c. 1820

Medium: oil on canvas
Classification: Painting
Dimensions: overall: 19.4 x 21.3 cm (7 5/8 x 8 3/8 in.) ; framed: 28.7 x 31.1 x 5.1 cm (11 5/16 x 12 1/4 x 2 in.)
Culture: French
Museum: National Gallery of Art, CF
Credit line: Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Mellon
Rights: Public domain (NGA Open Access, CC0), as the museum states it.
Who can see it: Little Ones profiles and older: it shows gentle subjects for the very young. How works are placed

View at the National Gallery of Art

More by Eugène Delacroix

See all

More Romanticism

See all