Alex Colville
Horse And Train
1954
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Can destiny be altered? The viewer is a helpless witness of an impending disaster, and will never know the outcome because the painter has not painted it. In Horse and Train, the artist portrays a choice between the horse and the engineer in the train. The observer witnesses the confrontation between two freedoms.
Colville has created a sad environment by using dark grey colours. The horse and the train are painted the same dark colour against a gray, cloudy sky. The brightest fundamentals of the picture are; the bright light located on the front of the train and the railwaytracks reflecting the bright light. These two elements draw the viewer’s eyes toward the oncoming train and the horse galloping away from the viewer. The scale of the horse having a small head and large backside makes it appear to be more realistic to the viewer. The railroad lines seem to meet at the horizon creating a feeling of depth, as though the train is a great distance away.
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