Two battle scenes: cavalry skirmishes
A mounted clash above and a larger cavalry battle with dust and fallen men below
Two compositional sketches of cavalry battles occupy the sheet, drawn in pen and brown ink. In the upper scene a horseman rears his mount amid a knot of fighting riders; the lower, larger scene shows a full cavalry charge with lances raised, billowing dust and men and horses falling in the fray. Both are rapid studies exploring the tumult of mounted combat rather than finished designs. No transcribed text accompanies the drawings.
On this page
Rearing and charging warhorses
Horses dominate both scenes: a mount rears steeply in the upper skirmish, while the lower battle sends a line of chargers into the melee. Their bodies twist, plunge and collapse under and among the riders. The movement of the animals carries much of the drama.
Mounted and fallen combatants
Riders lean and strike from the saddle while other figures tumble beneath the horses in the lower scene. The bodies are caught in vigorous, unstable poses of attack and collapse. They are sketched rapidly as part of the massed action.
Raised lances in the charge
Long lances and other raised weapons bristle above the riders in both scenes, marking the direction of the assault. They are shown wielded in combat rather than studied on their own. The weapons help organize the surge of the cavalry charge.