Thomas Hovenden, Hooded Figure on a Horse with Inscription

[Front]

At the top of this small sheet of paper is a hooded figure on horseback. He has no facial features and his robes are nearly indistinguishable from the saddlebags drawn along the horse’s body. Below the drawing is a short poem, which appears upside down. While much of the poem is difficult to decipher, several mentions of God suggest it has a religious message.

 

Hovenden explored religious themes in a number of his Breton works and in some of his American genre paintings, including two works from 1881, The Old Version and The Revised Version. Whether Hovenden wrote this poem or merely transcribed it, it gives us insight into the artist’s personal faith.

 

[Back]

Study for a Landscape, date unknown

Graphite on paper, 5 ¾ in. x 3 ¾ in.

Woodmere Art Museum: Gift of Mr. Stiles Tuttle Colwill, 2018