Unknown, last recorded at auction at Christie’s, London, 5 October 2010, lot 386
A Grey Racehorse and Groom, signed by Sheikh Muhammad Amir, is a finely detailed Company School painting produced in Calcutta around 1842. The painting is executed in pencil, watercolour and gum arabic on paper and the work measures approximately 36.8 × 49.5 cm. The painting is recorded as depicting a grey racehorse standing on a racetrack, with its reins held by a groom, and bears the artist’s signature in the lower right of the artwork.
The composition of the painting is dominated by the elegant, muscular horse. Its dark grey coat is rendered through layers of delicate washes, highlights and subtle tonal variations that describe the animal’s musculature, shoulders, ribs and hindquarters. The carefully delineated mane and long tail, attentive eye, bridle and reins demonstrate the artist’s ability to combine close observation with decorative refinement. The horse stands quietly but alertly, its head turned slightly toward the viewer, giving the otherwise still life scene a sense of presence. The background expands the scene into a spacious landscape. A low horizon, fenced racetrack, open fields and large masses of pale grey-blue clouds create atmospheric depth in the artwork. On the left is a small architectural or racetrack structure, while several birds are scattered across the sky. The relatively low horizon allows the horse to appear monumental against the expansive Indian landscape.
The elegant artwork shows the British colonial era in India. The groom's composed, quiet posture gives a good impression of what the times were like for someone in his position; reserved and dignified, but with a subtle sense of distance or dejected in his expression.
