The Races at Longchamp

1866

Édouard Manet composed this scene of a racetrack so that the throng of horses and jockeys thunders straight toward the viewer. In contrast to traditional sporting artists, who always showed races from the side with the horses in profile, Manet achieved a sense of expansive space with this thrilling perspective. The painting records the last moments of the race as the horses rush past the finish line, indicated by the pole with a circular top.

Public domain · CC0
Free to download and reuse. Image courtesy of Art Institute of Chicago.

Artist

Édouard Manet (French, 1832–1883)

Date

1866

Medium

Oil on canvas

Dimensions

44 × 84.2 cm (17 5/16 × 33 1/8 in.); Framed: 69.6 × 109.9 × 10.2 cm (27 3/8 × 43 1/4 × 4 in.)

Origin

France

Collection

Art Institute of Chicago

Credit

Potter Palmer Collection