“Jockeys in the Rain,” a pastel artwork dated 1886, exemplifies the Impressionist movement. Created by Edgar Degas, this genre painting measures 47 x 63.5 cm and resides in the Burrell Collection in Glasgow, UK. In the realm of Impressionism, Degas is renowned for depicting myriad scenes of modern life, with a recurring fascination toward horse racing, which this particular artwork captures elegantly.
The artwork portrays a group of jockeys mounted on their horses under an overcast sky that suggests imminent rain. The composition features a sense of movement and spontaneity common to Impressionist works. Degas employs a light touch to convey the hues of the jockeys’ uniforms and the musculature of the horses, relying on pastels to create a soft yet vibrant scene. The rain is implied through vertical blue streaks that merge with the background, and the landscape in the artwork gives a sense of wetness characteristic of a rainy day. The field’s greenery is interspersed with delicate marks of color that enhance the feeling of precipitation and humidity. This masterpiece captures a candid moment prior to or after a race, wherein the relationship between the jockeys and their steeds is poetically rendered through Degas’ masterful use of color and light.
