His mastery of animal anatomy is stunning. The puzzling modernity of the painting comes from the setting – a plain background with only two slightly darker patches under the horse’s hoofs to indicate shadow and thus space.
When my friend C. asked for a portrait of his elegant new dog, Whistlejacket immediately sprang to mind. I am very lucky he accepted my idea, and equally lucky that, contrary to 1762, we now have cell phones to record a posture and screens to check proportions.
So here is Toma de Sovinjak à la manière de George Stubbs.
