The artwork titled “Race horses” was created by Edgar Degas between the years 1885 and 1888, utilizing pastel on panel as the medium. This piece is an exemplary representation of the Impressionism art movement and falls into the genre painting category. The artwork is currently housed at the Philadelphia Museum of Art in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.
The artwork portrays the dynamic scene of racehorses accompanied by their jockeys. Degas captures the equine form with a delicate yet vivacious touch, the swift strokes and vibrant pastel colors conveying the movement and energy of the horses. Each animal is rendered with attention to its musculature and the distinct pose it holds, likely moments before or after a race. The jockeys are depicted in their traditional racing silks, suggesting their readiness for competition.
In the background, the artist has illustrated what appears to be a racetrack environment with a sense of atmospheric perspective, the colors fading into a muted horizon that provides a sense of depth to the scene. The brushwork is loose and expressive, a characteristic of the Impressionist style, which sought to capture fleeting moments and the effects of light.
Overall, the composition of the artwork with its sense of swift motion and the blurred outlines typical of Degas’ later works delivers an impression of a fleeting moment captured in time, a hallmark of the Impressionist movement to which the artist contributed significantly.
