The Outsider

Like his close friend Toulouse-Lautrec, Anquetin had a keen interest in racing. The two met in Paris, where they shared the same teachers, and their art often addressed similar themes. This composition was one of Anquetin’s most successful, made in several versions, including a painting and a color lithograph. Uniquely, however, the jockeys in this image wear plain jerseys. They cling to their horses, urging them onward, as the crowd jostles for a view. The spectators were probably meant to be city-dwellers; the setting is the Bois de Boulogne, a popular leisure destination on the outskirts of Paris.