Horse heads. France, late 19th century.

Horse heads. France, late nineteenth century.
Pair of plaster reliefs.
Rear rear mounts.
Measurements: 84.5 x 84.5 x 16 cm. each.

It is likely that this pair of horse heads worked in bas-relief was inspired by the horse head of Phidias, now preserved in the British Museum in London. The open mouths, the large nostrils, the expressiveness of the gaze and the veins that furrow the equine nose are reminiscent of the horse pulling the chariot of the solar goddess Selene on the pediment of the Parthenon. Phidias' theme fascinated both Romantics and Neoclassicists during the 19th century. The relief attributed to Phidias, sculpted in the 5th century BC, was commissioned by Pericles. The marble head embodied the beauty and precision of classical Greek art, a testament to the artistic skill of antiquity.