This small fragment derives from a larger composition of a Velocipedist that
Manet cut up, and of which three of the parts survived until 1883 at
least. Startlingly enough, the pose of the greyhound, its front legs
extended in a " rocking -horse" position, virtually repeats that of the
horse seen at the right, bearing down on us at speed the racetrack painting
of 1864 Courses 6 Longchamp of which three painted versions, a watercolour,
and a drawing exist. The pose, therefore, was
"etched" on Manet's mind sufficiently well for him to recall it and re-use
it in this study of restrained speed: the animal canters effortlessly at the
side of its master's machine.
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