Edgar Degas – Scene from the Steeplechase: The Fallen Jockey

Scene from the Steeplechase: The Fallen Jockey shows a rider lying on his back in the grass, arms spread and eyes closed, in a pink jacket and pale breeches. Above him a large brown horse without a rider stretches right across the scene, legs extended and saddle empty, while at the left two more riders move away without looking back. The background is a pale green field with a thin line of trees and a pale pink sky. The original is oil on canvas and is held by the National Gallery of Art in Washington under the accession number 1999.79.10. We make it as a hand-painted work, in sizes from 30 x 40 to 120 x 160 cm or to your own measurements, and you receive a photograph of the finished work for approval before dispatch.

Scene from the Steeplechase: The Fallen Jockey – Edgar Degas

Who is shown?

Three riders and three horses, none of them named. At the lower right lies the fallen jockey: on his back in the grass, arms spread, head thrown back and eyes closed, in a pink jacket, pale breeches and black boots. We do not know whether he is stunned or dead. Above him is a large brown horse with no rider, caught in mid-air, its legs extended and its saddle empty with a white girth running across it. At the left two more riders move away, the first bearded and in a red cap, behind him a second in a white cap. Neither of them looks back.

What is on the canvas?

The scene is upright and unusually large — the original is almost two metres tall. The colours are pale and chalky: green grass, a pale pink and cream sky, brown horses. At the right a few thin trees stand in a line in the distance. There is no stand, no rail, no crowd, no finishing post — only the field. The strongest colours on the whole canvas are the pink jacket of the man on the ground and the red cap of the rider at the upper left. In many places, through the thinly laid colour, you can see the black drawing lines that outline the horses’ legs and bodies.

Why does this particular scene matter?

Because it shows an accident and not a sport. Racing scenes were then scenes of display — horses, clothes, an audience. Here there is none of that: a man lies in the grass, the horse runs on without him, and the other two riders continue as though nothing had happened. That last is the most merciless part: help is not coming. The second thing is the size. Among all Degas’s works in this gallery this is one of the largest; canvases that size were at the time reserved for scenes from history, and Degas painted a fall from a horse on one.

What does the scene mean?

An accident without a story. We are not told what came before and we are not told what comes after. Impressionism for Degas never meant a pleasant scene but a cutting caught when the eye really sees it — including when the cutting is violent. An impressionist painting of this kind is therefore closer to a report than to a decoration. As wall art it is a demanding choice: it needs a calm wall and a viewer who does not find the scene too much. A canvas painting like this belongs in a quiet, serious room rather than in a dining room.

The motif among Degas’s works

Degas painted horse racing all his life, but the accident only here. Before the Race shows the same field before anything happens, Gentlemen’s Race. Before the Start catches the waiting before the beginning, and Race Horses before the Stands puts the horses in front of a crowd that is absent here. How closely Degas studied the rider on horseback is shown by Jockey at the Art Institute of Chicago, and how long he could keep returning to a single large early canvas by Young Spartans Exercising at the National Gallery in London.

How is our hand-painted version made?

With a brush and oil colours, not a printer, and here the technique of the original is the same as ours. Every one of our canvases is made layer after layer, and in this motif the hardest thing is to hold the paleness. The scene is almost entirely in light, muted tones, and if the colour is laid on too thickly it loses its air and becomes a hard illustration. The other demanding part is the horse in mid-air: its legs have to stay drawing rather than become modelled mass, or the scene loses its speed. We paint the pink jacket last, because it is the only true colour in the lower half. Every reproduction is made afresh and no two copies are ever quite the same, because the hand does not repeat the same stroke twice; every hand-painted copy is therefore its own. For this work we have no photographs of our finished canvases, so we show and describe none here. The photograph of your canvas reaches you before dispatch.

Which size for which wall?

If you do not know which: 70 x 90 cm. The original measures 180 x 152 cm and is therefore very large; our 120 x 160 cm size comes nearest to it in size, while in proportion the nearest is 40 x 50 cm, because our sizes run a little narrower than the original. The 30 x 40 and 40 x 50 cm sizes are for a smaller room or a hallway, where the fallen man at the bottom already becomes hard to make out. The 50 x 70 and 60 x 80 cm sizes are the middle choice above a chest of drawers. The 70 x 90 cm size is the most frequent decision for a living room, where a tall and calm wall is what it asks for. The 80 x 110 and 100 x 130 cm sizes are for a larger wall, where the field is given its space, and at 120 x 160 cm we are at the sizes where a large painting really breathes and the horse stands close to life size. Measure your chosen size on the wall with a paper cut-out first; with an upright format the mistake is usually made in the height. None of the sizes is held in stock as a finished item: every copy is made to order and stays a single piece.

Custom size, stretcher bar and frame

If none of the eight sizes suits you, or if you want the original’s proportion, we paint to your measurements and keep the proportions of the scene, so that the fallen man stays whole and the horse’s tail at the right edge is not lost; that is our painting made to order. Every copy is delivered stretched on a wooden bar, ready to hang. For the frame, use our 3D application: on this motif it shows every moulding profile we carry, so you can compare gold, silver, black, white and natural wood – it is for choosing a frame and nothing else. If you want to see how the work looks on your own wall, that is our separate room-placement service.

Delivery and guarantee

Every copy is made to order in our studio in Slovenia, so allow 15 to 45 days depending on the size you choose; for the largest sizes the time is usually at the upper end. We send it stretched and protected for transport, framed if you chose a frame, to sixteen countries in the European Union, without customs duties. You receive a photograph of the finished work for approval before dispatch, and our returns policy applies to every order. The whole range is in the Edgar Degas gallery, and the painter’s life is described in our article about Edgar Degas.

Frequently asked questions

What is happening in the scene?

A rider has fallen from his horse and lies in the grass. The horse runs on without him, and the other two riders move away without looking back.

Is the fallen jockey dead?

The scene does not say. He lies on his back with his eyes closed and his arms spread; whether he is stunned or dead is left open.

Why is nobody helping him?

Because there is nobody else in the scene. No spectators, no officials, no helpers — only the field and three horses.

What is in the background?

A pale green field, a thin line of trees in the distance at the right, and a pale pink-cream sky. No stand and no rail.

Where is the original located?

In the National Gallery of Art in Washington, under the accession number 1999.79.10.

How large is the original?

180 by 152 cm, so very large and taller than it is wide. Our 120 x 160 cm size comes nearest to it.

Are your sizes in the same proportion as the original?

Not quite – ours run a little narrower. In proportion the nearest is 40 x 50 cm; if you want the original’s proportion, we paint it to your measurements.

Is this a print?

No. The work is painted by hand in oil colours; the brushstrokes are visible and can be felt.

Which size should I choose?

Above a chest of drawers usually 70 x 90 cm, for a smaller room 50 x 70 cm. The size guide is above.

Can I have a size that is not listed?

Yes, we paint to measure and keep the proportions of the scene while doing it.

Is it suitable as a gift?

Yes, but think about who for. The scene is serious rather than kind; it suits someone who likes strong subjects. Because every copy is made to order, allow for the making time; if you would rather leave the choice to them, there is our gift voucher.

• Subject: a fallen jockey in the grass, a riderless horse in mid-air above him and two riders moving away, on an empty field
• Original: Edgar Degas, an oil painting on canvas, 180 x 152 cm, National Gallery of Art in Washington (1999.79.10)
• Ours: hand-painted in oil, eight sizes from 30 x 40 to 120 x 160 cm, stretched and framed on request
• Worth knowing: the canvas is almost two metres tall – a size then reserved for scenes from history, and Degas painted a fall from a horse on it