“The English Horse of M. Duval” is an oil on canvas artwork by the artist Gustave Courbet, executed in the style characteristic of the Realism movement. The work, with dimensions of 32.4 by 40.6 cm, falls within the genre of animal painting and, as of the last available information, is part of a private collection.
The artwork depicts an English horse, likely a specimen of significant value and stature owned by a person referred to as M. Duval. It portrays the animal in profile, standing against a nondescript, dark background that fades into a vague suggestion of a natural setting. Courbet’s use of rich, earthy browns and reds conveys the glossy texture of the horse’s coat, while the muscles and contours of the animal are rendered with a palpable sense of solidity and mass that reflect the artist’s commitment to capturing the physical presence of his subjects. The horse’s calm demeanor and the painterly treatment of light and shadow lend the piece a lifelike quality, an embodiment of Courbet’s Realist principles that emphasized the depiction of subjects in a truthful manner, free from idealization.
