The Influence of Dressage on the
Art of the Renaissance

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Katie Fletcher.
Dr. Charlie Apter and Dr. Julia DeLancey (Art History), Faculty Mentors.

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The fifteenth-century rediscovery of dressage changed the relationship between horse and human, and further, influenced the art of the Renaissance. Dressage, a form of horsemanship, was first introduced during the classical Greek period by the founder of hippology, Xenophon, and was rediscovered during the Renaissance with the "rebirth" of interest in the classical world. This presentation will consider how this rebirth and the further development of dressage established a new perspective on horses and influenced the relationship between horse and human. With this new perspective, which reflected the humanistic underpinnings of the Renaissance, humans sought to approach the horse not as a tool of war and commerce but as an individual and as an equal partner. Various equestrian portraits will be used to gauge this relationship in the art of the Renaissance.