Live Lusitanos
"Musical Ride"
2.5 x 3.5 inches
Watercolour, collage &
imitation gold leaf
For sale
2.5 x 3.5 inches
Watercolour, collage &
imitation gold leaf
For sale
"Levade"
2.5 x 3.5 inches
Watercolour & imitation gold leaf
For sale
"Backlit"
2.5 x 3.5 inches
Watercolour &
imitation gold leaf
2.5 x 3.5 inches
Watercolour &
imitation gold leaf
For sale
It promised to be a beautiful and warm day, the day of the Lusitano show. I had been planning to go there for months; it’s so rare to see Lusitanos in Holland, let alone a lot of them.
What is a Lusitano? A Lusitano is a Portuguese breed of horse. It’s a very old breed, and if you’ve ever seen copper engravings of horses from the 17th and 18th centuries, or even old paintings from that era, it’s very likely you’re seeing a Lusitano or the related breed, the Andalusian. Think of a painting by Titian. Flowing manes, a short, rounded body, a cresty neck, a roman nose: these characterize the Lusitano. They are strikingly baroque, all curves and flowing lines, like gold ornamentation, gilded chairs, velvet wall “paper”, mountainous periwigs and the Brandenburg concerti by Bach.
A train trip of around an hour brought me to Houten, a town near the centre of Holland. A bit of biking, a wrong turn and then a right one, and I saw a small sign in the grass with on it “Lusitanos” and an arrow pointing the way.
Five or six mares and their riders were circling around the main ring. Grey, bay, and a striking golden-dun coat; slender, arched noses and necks and a springy stride that does little to hide their fiery nature; one by one the mares passed by the judges. The Lusitanos proved to be remarkably quick and agile. A sudden move from someone in the audience could cause them to raise their forelegs in a brief levade and wheel round away from the frightening movement. Where an Arabian horse is all forward movement and long, low, flowing strides, the Lusitano is up and down and coiled like a spring.
Nothing was more beautiful and breathtaking than two young stallions that were obviously quite new to the show ring. They darted about their handlers, rearing, plunging, calling out, snorting, their heads raised and necks crested with impetuous and youthful maleness. I think the most glorious moment is perhaps when a young and nervous stallion stands still, raises its head almost horizontally and with distended nostrils looks out from below a voluminous tuft of manes just before it recommences its dance around the handler.
Later these stallions become the very model of civilization and education. In their youth their coats are a dark and steely grey and they bleach out to a silvery white, learning meanwhile to dance to the aids of their rider. In the far ring on that sunny day in Houten such a model of equine learning danced with its baroque-costumed rider to flute concerti of several centuries past.
I spent the afternoon in Houten sketching and turned these sketches into ACEOs. Since gold leaf combines so beautifully with these baroque horses I applied it to these ACEOs. Unfortunately the scanner doesn’t pick up the gold colour well and turns it brownish. It’s unfortunate, because in real life the gold-covered portions of the images are light, and not darker as they appear here.
It promised to be a beautiful and warm day, the day of the Lusitano show. I had been planning to go there for months; it’s so rare to see Lusitanos in Holland, let alone a lot of them.
What is a Lusitano? A Lusitano is a Portuguese breed of horse. It’s a very old breed, and if you’ve ever seen copper engravings of horses from the 17th and 18th centuries, or even old paintings from that era, it’s very likely you’re seeing a Lusitano or the related breed, the Andalusian. Think of a painting by Titian. Flowing manes, a short, rounded body, a cresty neck, a roman nose: these characterize the Lusitano. They are strikingly baroque, all curves and flowing lines, like gold ornamentation, gilded chairs, velvet wall “paper”, mountainous periwigs and the Brandenburg concerti by Bach.
A train trip of around an hour brought me to Houten, a town near the centre of Holland. A bit of biking, a wrong turn and then a right one, and I saw a small sign in the grass with on it “Lusitanos” and an arrow pointing the way.
Five or six mares and their riders were circling around the main ring. Grey, bay, and a striking golden-dun coat; slender, arched noses and necks and a springy stride that does little to hide their fiery nature; one by one the mares passed by the judges. The Lusitanos proved to be remarkably quick and agile. A sudden move from someone in the audience could cause them to raise their forelegs in a brief levade and wheel round away from the frightening movement. Where an Arabian horse is all forward movement and long, low, flowing strides, the Lusitano is up and down and coiled like a spring.
Nothing was more beautiful and breathtaking than two young stallions that were obviously quite new to the show ring. They darted about their handlers, rearing, plunging, calling out, snorting, their heads raised and necks crested with impetuous and youthful maleness. I think the most glorious moment is perhaps when a young and nervous stallion stands still, raises its head almost horizontally and with distended nostrils looks out from below a voluminous tuft of manes just before it recommences its dance around the handler.
Later these stallions become the very model of civilization and education. In their youth their coats are a dark and steely grey and they bleach out to a silvery white, learning meanwhile to dance to the aids of their rider. In the far ring on that sunny day in Houten such a model of equine learning danced with its baroque-costumed rider to flute concerti of several centuries past.
I spent the afternoon in Houten sketching and turned these sketches into ACEOs. Since gold leaf combines so beautifully with these baroque horses I applied it to these ACEOs. Unfortunately the scanner doesn’t pick up the gold colour well and turns it brownish. It’s unfortunate, because in real life the gold-covered portions of the images are light, and not darker as they appear here.
posted by Hannekens at 2:58 AM
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