Théodore GERICAULT (Rouen 1791- Paris 1824) Recto: London draught horse with harness seen from the rump Verso: London characters: a sweeper, a man and a child Watercolour over black pencil lines (Bending on the left, some foxing) Front : London draft horse with its harness seen from the rump ; Back : London figures: a street sweeper, a man and a child, watercolor, by T. Géricault 10.23 x 7.28 in. 26 x 18.5 cm Provenance: His de La Salle Collection, his stamp (L.1333) lower centre; Collection Heseltine, its stamp (L.1508) on the reverse; His sale, London, Sotheby's, 27-29 May 1935, no. 240, acquired by Maurice Gobin; Maurice Gobin Collection (1883-1962), his stamp (L.1124b) on the reverse; Then by descent; Private collection, Ile-de-France Exhibitions: Géricault, Paris, Grand Palais, 1991-1992, p. 210, no. 227, repr. fig. 334 Bibliography: Charles Clément, Géricault, Etude biographique et critique, avec le catalogue raisonné de l'œuvre du maître, Paris, 1879, ed. Didier et Cie, no. 143, and p. 387, under no. 31 in the catalogue of lithographs Maurice Gobin, Géricault dans la collection d'un amateur, Paris, 1958, Editart, nos. 32-33 Maurice Gobin, L'art expressif au XIXe siècle français, Paris, 1960, édition des quatre chemins, repr. Lorenz Eitner, Géricault: Sa vie, son œuvre, London, 1983, pp. 223, 350 note 57, 351 note 63 (15) Lorenz Eitner, Géricault: Sa vie, son oeuvre, Paris, 1991, pp. 300, 432 notes 57 and 63 Germain Bazin, Géricault Tome VII, 1997, p. 72 n° 2138 and p. 98 n° 2210, repr. Charles Clément refers to this sheet as preparatory for one of the horses in the lithograph Entrance to the Adelphi Wharf (fig. 1) as a study for the horse on the right in the foreground, "a study in graphite, masterfully washed in Indian ink, for the horse on the right in the foreground; it is the counterpart of the lithograph. On the reverse of this study are two sweepers and a child, in graphite". He also cites drawing no. 143, a lost preparatory drawing for the lithograph, which recently reappeared at a public sale in Saint-Valéry-en-Caux1. The black pencil sketch on the reverse clearly proves that this is the same drawing as the one cited by Clément2. The lithograph Entrance to the Adelphi Wharf was produced in May 1821. However, the horse is seen from a slightly different angle, and is most likely harnessed to a carriage from which Géricault drew it. It is therefore not directly preparatory to the lithograph and drawing cited by Clément, but undoubtedly predates them in time. The neck is in fact blocked by an English-style harness known as a "housing "3. The horse, with its hairy dewlaps, is typical of English draught horses such as Scottish Clydersdales or Yorkshire Shires. As for the provenance, the collector Horace His de La Salle joined the King's Musketeers like Théodore Géricault in 1814. Although their opinions differed, there was an esprit de corps to which the collector probably attached himself. Géricault was four years older than His de la Salle, who was born in 1795. It seems that His de la Salle nevertheless began collecting Géricault's works well after his death in 1824, from the 1840s onwards. In addition to donations to institutions and collectors such as Léon Bonnat, the sale organised by Thibeaudeau at Christie's in London in 1880 dispersed at least 32 drawings from the collection preserved by his companion Madame White4. 1. Anonymous sale; Saint-Valéry-en-Caux, Me Roquigny, 1 January 2024, sold for €197,500. 2. Géricault, exhibition catalogue, Paris, Grand Palais, 1991-1992, p. 388. 3. See Bazin, op. cit. p. 12. 4. Laurence Lhinares and Louis-Antoine Prat, Officier et Gentleman au XIXe siècle, la collection Horace His de La Salle, Paris, musée du Louvre, ed. Liénart et Louvre éditions, 2020. Théodore GERICAULT (Rouen 1791- Paris 1824) 26 x 18.5 cm Charles Clément refers to this sheet as preparatory for one of the horses in the lithograph Entrance to the Adelphi Wharf (fig. 1) as a study for the horse on the right in the foreground, "a study in graphite, masterfully washed in Indian ink, for the horse on the right in the foreground; it is the counterpart to the lithograph. On the reverse of this study are two sweepers and a child, in graphite". He also cites drawing no. 143, a lost preparatory drawing for the lithograph, which recently reappeared at a public sale in Saint-Valéry-en-Caux1. The black pencil sketch on the reverse clearly proves that this is the same drawing as the one cited by Clément2. The lithograph Entrance to the Adelphi Wharf was produced in May 1821. However, the horse is seen from a slightly different angle, and is most likely harnessed to a carriage from which Géricault drew it. It is therefore not directly preparatory to the lithograph and drawing cited by Clément, but undoubtedly precedes them in time. The neck is in fact blocked by an English-style harness known as a "housing "3. The horse, with its hairy dewlaps, is typical of English draught horses such as Scottish Clydersdales or Yorkshire Shires. As for the provenance, the collector Horace His de La Salle joined the King's Musketeers like Théodore Géricault in 1814. Although their opinions differed, there was an esprit de corps to which the collector probably attached himself. Géricault was four years older than His de la Salle, who was born in 1795. It seems that His de la Salle nevertheless began collecting Géricault's works well after his death in 1824, from the 1840s onwards. In addition to donations to institutions and collectors such as Léon Bonnat, the sale organised by Thibeaudeau at Christie's in London in 1880 dispersed at least 32 drawings from the collection preserved by his companion Madame White4. 1. Anonymous sale; Saint-Valéry-en-Caux, Me Roquigny, 1 January 2024, sold for €197,500. 2. Géricault, exhibition catalogue, Paris, Grand Palais, 1991-1992, p. 388. 3. See Bazin, op. cit. p. 12. 4. Laurence Lhinares and Louis-Antoine Prat, Officier et Gentleman au XIXe siècle, la collection Horace His de La Salle, Paris, musée du Louvre, ed. Liénart et Louvre éditions, 2020.