George Stubbs was born the son of a tanner in Liverpool, but as an adult he decided to move to the north of England and paint portraits. To hone his skills to perfection, he began to study anatomy. Then he changed direction and “fell in love” with horses.

While working on the farm, Stubbs dissected dead horses, studied all the fibers of the muscles, tendons, bones. And each stage was carefully sketched. Based on the sketches, he created and in 1759 published the book Anatomy of a Horse. As a result, George achieved the main thing – in 1767 he moved to the capital, earned a reputation as a talented painter, attracted the attention of titled patrons – Portland, Rockenham, Richmond, Grosvenor.

Art historians note that George Stubbs sometimes had doubts about the correctness of the chosen path, but his purposeful nature and craving for independence left no choice and he went to the end. In the history of art, one can hardly count at least two dozen artists who have devoted their lives to the study of the horse as an object of their own creativity. Stubbs is included in this list as the founder of new traditions and techniques in “horse painting”.