Cacasenno Riding a Horse Backwards

c. 1710/1715

Giuseppe Maria Crespi and Ludovico Mattioli

Associated Names
Giuseppe Maria Crespi

Artist, Bolognese, 1665 - 1747

Ludovico Mattioli

Artist, Italian, 1662 - 1747

The image shows a person sitting sideways on a horse. The person is seated as though riding the horse backward, with their face and body turned to look over the horse's rump. The person has a masculine appearance with a smooth face, a distinctive nose, and short, dark hair partially covered by a headscarf. They wear a loose-fitting garment with long sleeves and a sash at the waist, and their feet are placed in stirrups. One hand rests on the horse's back. The horse is mid-stride, with texture in its mane and tail, giving a sense of motion. In the background, there are trees and a hilly landscape beneath a sky with stylized clouds. The scene is rendered in an etching style, and there is an inscription at the bottom in Italian.

Media Options

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    etching on laid paper

  • Credit Line

    William B. O'Neal Fund

  • Dimensions

    plate: 22.5 × 15.1 cm (8 7/8 × 5 15/16 in.)
    sheet: 31.1 × 19.7 cm (12 1/4 × 7 3/4 in.)

  • Accession Number

    2020.43.19

  • Catalogue Raisonné

    Bartsch 1802 - 1821, no. 41

  • Series Title

    Bertoldo, Bertoldino, e Cacasenno (plate 19)

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

(Enrico Cortona, Milan); purchased 2020 by NGA.

Associated Names

Bibliography

1802

  • Bartsch, Adam. Le peintre graveur. 21 vols. Vienna, 1802-1821: no. 41.

2014

  • Riccòmini, Marco. Giuseppe Maria Crespi, I disegni e le stampe, catalogo ragionato. Turin, 2014: no. GMC.35.

Watermarks

W d encircled with three-leaf clover shape beneath

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