Eugène Péchaubès

Eugène Pechaubes was an artist of the French school, who specialized in painting horses and military matters, especially those dealing with themes of the Second Empire. He was also well-known for his horse racing and polo paintings. Pechaubes was often commissioned to perform very accurate portraits of the most famous horses and their owners and admirers. Among his popular motifs were also Arabian equestrian games. He also worked as a poster artist.

Pechaubes studied the body, movement and horses’ attitudes as well as their inherent elegance. His early career focused on military matters, which gave him the foundation to form a style of his own in the field of racehorse portraiture.

At the Académie Julian, Péchaubes was a student of Édouard Detaille and later exhibited in numerous salons. He painted numerous finishes of major horse races. Based on the chronology, the work entered is probably the picture of a 1931 race: Longchamp, Grand Prix de Paris (1931), Barneveldt will beat Taxodium & Tourbillon (oil on canvas, 33 x 92 cm).