Equestrian portraiture
The horse was used as a beast of burden, a mode of transport, then used in warfare and as a work implement before becoming a political tool to emphasise the rank, dignity and presence of sovereigns through equestrian portraiture. This category of portraits held a key place in the genre of state portraits, the horse being considered as a privilege and attribute of the nobility. The first representations of equestrian figures date back to Antiquity, such as Alexander the Great on his favourite horse Bucephalus and in particular the colossal equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelius, a prototype for imperial power that was used as a model for centuries. Although this genre was initially only used for sovereigns and nobility, concerned with their image and the power they represented, its use gradually broadened as a result of changing mentalities and techniques and its association with power and nature.
