George Stubbs Painter

George Stubbs, Painter

George Stubbs is one of the greatest of British eighteenth-century painters, with a deep and unaffected sympathy for country life and the English countryside. This fully illustrated book outlines his career, followed by a catalogue raisonne (the first since Sir Walter Gilbey's short listing of 1898) of all his known works. One of the stickiest labels in the history of British art attached itself to Stubbs as 'Mr Stubbs the horse painter'. Over half of his paintings were of horses, each founded on the pioneering observations assembled (in 1766) in his book The Anatomy of the Horse; but Stubbs's wide-ranging subjects included portraits, conversation pieces and paintings of exotic animals from the Zebra to the Rhinoceros, as well as an extraordinarily sympathetic series of portraits of dogs.

Fearful Symmetry

The Art of George Stubbs

Primarily known as a horse painter, some rendered life-size up to 7' x 12, 'George Stubbs' work represents a social history of eighteenth century England. Most of his paintings were done on commission, including a number from the Prince of Wales. While paintings in the animal and hunting genre might be easily overlooked as merely decorative, Stubbs distinguished himself in this area with the use of stunning realism. Also included are his famous equine anatomical illustrations and engravings. The faithfully represented images in the book, with a text that illuminates Stubbs' life and times (1724-1806), allow for a true appreciation of the work and will help to round out any art book collection.