Visiting the Art Institute of Chicago: Great Horses' Asses in World Famous Paintings

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Equestrienne—At the Cirque Fernando (1987-88) Art Institute of Chicago.

I still play the game "what piece of art would I take home with me?" when I visit museums or galleries. This year, I found myself adjusting that to "which piece of artwork would I choose to rescue from impending fire?"—were a fire impending. The idea being, of course, that many would be on board to cart away the most famous master paintings, but perhaps some less well-known object would need one's personal assistance. The adjustment also allow one to choose an object or painting that would not... perhaps even fit through the door frame of one's home!

So—Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec's Equestrienne (At the Cirque Fernando), 1887—88. More familiarly "the great big painting of the massive circus horse's ass."

In June of 1983 I attended a cousin's graduation from the Bronx High School of Science. E.L. Doctorow was the speaker. Doctorow had recently visited the Italian city of Arezzo and visited Piero della Francesca's masterwork fresco cycle: the Legend of the True Cross. That's another painting with a famous horse's bottom, sacred, really, to Toulouse-Lautrec's prophane:

The lecture Doctorow gave that day... It was one of those time/place magical continuums. Just a year previously, this fresco cycle had caught my attention (I had a good art teacher who was personally obsessed with this 14th century Italian master—he did his best to pass at least a part of that love along). I was at the right age and right mental place to hang on every word Doctorow had for me.

A big part of Doctorow's lecture... it was about innocent horseflesh. Another part... it was about human suffering. Christ, after all—in another near part of the painting, he's getting it from a scourging flail, not far from that great calm white muscular bottom.

In any case, these are paintings to love, and to contemplate, and just getting to a museum like the Art Institute of Chicago—for me, it's one of life's treats.