George Stubbs, who lived from 1724 to 1806, was England’s foremost—wait for it—horse painter. Meticulous and detail-oriented, Stubbs’s works were so precise they could serve as instructional guides to animal anatomy (he had studied the corpses of horses suspended from overhead beams with pulleys). Yet his brushwork was almost lyrical in its naturalism and grace. Stubbs has never before been exhibited in the Netherlands, and this show includes his greatest work, the life-sized portrait Whistlejacket (1762). A grandson of the Darley Arabian, this satin-skinned chestnut, rearing up, has a gorgeous blond mane and tail, and a right eye that takes the measure of his endless stream of admirers. —E.C.

Stubbs
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Mauritshuis / The Hague / Art
Mauritshuis / The Hague / Art
George Stubbs, “Whistlejacket.” The National Gallery, London.
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Mauritshuis
Plein 29, 2511 CS Den Haag, Netherlands
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