Titles

Alternative titles include:

• '[A] snow scene, with a horse and a soldier standing by it and another in the snow at his feet' (1900, Whistler). 1
• 'Copy after a Snow Scene' (1980, YMSM). 2

The preferred title is 'Copy after Odier's "Episode de la retraite de Moscou" '.

Description

Whistler, Copy after Odier's 'Episode de la retraite de Moscou', Colby College Museum of Art

A composition in vertical format, showing a French dragoon standing in the snow beside his horse, against a dark grey background. The horse, at left, is injured, with blood dripping from its front right leg. The reins hang from its drooping head across the snow in the foreground. The man has a dark red cap, and a scarf (or hood) wound round his head, a medal (a white cross with gold roundel) hanging on his grey waistcoat, an off-white belt with gilt buckle, cream/beige breeches, and a grey cloak lined with red. He stands looking down, with his right arm leaning on his saddle. He has a black riding boot on his left leg, but the right leg, possibly injured below the knee, appears to be swathed in ragged cloth. His gilt centurion-style helmet hangs from the saddle. Behind the horse, at left, is the indistinct grey shape of a man's body lying in the snow. The sky is very dark grey, with a faint orange line at the horizon at right.