Study of a Horse's Head for "The Maid of Orléans"

Jan Matejko

Oil on canvas

National Museum in Warsaw

Rendered in rich, earthy browns with flashes of ivory and rose, this spirited horse's head emerges from a loosely brushed background with astonishing immediacy. Jan Matejko, Poland's great history painter, created this preparatory study while developing his monumental canvas of Joan of Arc, using bold, confident strokes to capture the animal's muscular neck, alert eye, and tousled mane. The painterly freedom here reveals a different side of an artist best known for meticulously detailed historical epics, showing his mastery of quick, expressive observation. It's a striking, textural piece that brings warmth and painterly energy to any room, radiating the raw vitality of a working study by one of Poland's most celebrated painters.