Jan Stobbaerts, Horse Stables

by Atelier Liesjes

In the semi-darkness of a stable, three horses stand behind a low feeding trough made of rough planks. On the left, a reddish-brown head protrudes above the edge; in the centre, a white horse with grey shadows blends into a broad, light patch; on the right, a dark brown animal bends its neck downwards. A lantern and a piece of cloth hang from the ceiling; in the left-hand corner stands a large cask, and on the right, a barrel next to a tar barrel. The floor is compacted earth with a green haze of damp and moss. At the back of the stable, a doorway opens out onto the open air, where a man in a blue shirt and a cap has his back turned to us. His figure is almost swallowed up by the darkness.
Stobbaerts paints the stable as a space that smells of hay, manure and horses, without any idealisation. The colour palette is limited and earthy: umber, burnt umber, ochre yellow, grey-green and the ivory white of the middle horse. The paint is applied fluidly and at times sparingly, with long strokes on the flanks and short, scratchy strokes in the straw. The light falls from behind and from the right, causing the animals’ heads to stand out against an almost black background. This creates a realism reminiscent of seventeenth-century stable painters, whilst at the same time being modern in its looseness. There is no narrative in the picture, only the slow passage of time in the stable.
Jan Stobbaerts (Antwerp 1838 – Antwerp 1914) was an Antwerp painter and etcher who made rural life his subject: stables, cows, slaughterhouses and horse markets. He preferred to work outside the city, in the Kempen and the countryside around Antwerp, and was regarded in his day as one of the most honest observers of rural life. His work is represented in Belgian museums. His signature appears in the bottom right-hand corner. A dark, warm stable scene suitable for a rural or rustic interior.