Horse Testing in Paris

Barvitius devoted a major part of his work to horses: he painted them at markets, at work, during watering, at races, in town and country. From Paris Barvitius entered his picture Horse Testing for the annual 1867 exhibition in Prague, where it went under the title Harnessed Horses outside the Covered Market. The painting, full of life and movement, impresses the viewer with its expressive realism. The dynamic brushwork with pastose accents and quivering light creates an ambience subtly coloured with dust, its layer attenuated by warm half-tones.