![]() The pose had previously been used in large heroic equestrian portraits by artists such as Rubens and Velázquez. Usually associated with a mounted ruler or military commander, the levade pose was typically a sign of majesty or superior rank. He is rearing in a levade position, often used in dressage, when a horse bends its hind legs equally to carry the full weight of its body for two or three seconds. With his forelegs drawn in, Whistlejacket’s rearing body twists slightly to the right as he turns his head towards us. In contrast to the sheen of Whistlejacket’s smooth coat, Stubbs uses visible brushwork to enhance the texture and movement of the undocked tail. Both his mane and tail are fuller, and his untrimmed mane is arranged in a natural plait. His ears are cocked, his nostrils flared and the whites of his eyes are visible. Compared to the earlier Whistlejacket and two other Stallions in the Wentworth Stud, Whistlejacket also appears wilder and more monumental. For example, both the rump and the forehead are simultaneously visible, as are the right knee and the underside of the hoof. Yet despite his almost scientific understanding of horse anatomy, Stubbs takes liberties with Whistlejacket’s pose, showing more of his body than would be possible in a natural pose in order to enhance the portrait’s dramatic effect. These studies formed the basis of a series of engraved plates, which he published in 1766 as The Anatomy of the Horse. Working in a barn specifically equipped to hang horse carcasses from the ceiling, he made detailed drawings of every stage of the many dissections he completed. Between 17, he had spent 18 months in the Lincolnshire village of Horkstow dissecting and studying horses. ![]() Stubbs’s understanding of horse anatomy was unsurpassed among British artists of the time. Stubbs’s task was not simply to paint a horse, but to paint a portrait of this particular animal. He had a concave profile – like a gazelle’s – with the head joining the neck in a swelling arched curve. His head was small and tapered with a broad forehead, delicately modelled ears and large wide nostrils. Whistlejacket’s coat was a rich coppery chestnut and he had an auburn tail and mane that lightened to white - reputedly the colouring of the original wild horses of Arabia. As a breeder of horses, Rockingham recognised that Whistlejacket was a prime specimen of pure-bred Arabian stock with the finest characteristics of the breed. Whistlejacket’s famous victory was not, however, the principal reason for the commission. It was his final race, as he was then retired to stud. It was only after his first owner, Sir William Middleton, had sold him to Lord Rockingham that the ten-year-old stallion achieved his greatest success, and national fame, when he won a race at York in August 1759. ![]() Whistlejacket’s career as a racehorse was only moderately successful. Stubbs’s painting of Whistlejacket in this second picture most likely prompted Rockingham to commission a monumental single portrait of the horse. These included Mares and Foals without a Background and Whistlejacket and two other Stallions in the Wentworth Stud with Joshua Cobb, The Head Groom (both in a private collection), which are notable for their classical frieze-like structure and lack of a background. In 1762 Stubbs spent several months at Wentworth House and completed five paintings that were paid for in August. Aside from collecting sculpture, Rockingham’s other great passions were breeding racehorses and gambling. His principal residence, Wentworth House (now known as Wentworth Woodhouse) in Yorkshire, was well suited for the display of statues – and of large paintings such as this. The Marquess of Rockingham was one of the richest men in England – and briefly Prime Minister – and had built up a substantial collection of classical sculpture, much of which he acquired while on the Grand Tour in Italy from 1748 to 1750. The commission came from Charles Watson-Wentworth, 2nd Marquess of Rockingham, who was eventually to commission 12 paintings from him. George Stubbs was probably commissioned to paint this life-size portrait of the racehorse Whistlejacket in 1762.
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