L’Arriere-Main Hermes carre

L’Arriere-Main Hermès carré by Philippe Ledoux 1969 – RARE – Personal Collection

The lovely L’Arriere-Main Philippe Ledoux carré draws its inspiration from a painting by Théodore Géricault entitled Les Croupes, (The Hindquarters/Buttocks).

Théodore Géricault was a French Romantic Painter (1791-1824) from Rouen, France. His oil painting entitled Les Croupes, (The Hindquarters/Buttocks) provided the Inspiration for the 1969 Hermès carré, L’Arriere-Main by Philippe Ledoux

Most likely the studies for this painting found their inspiration at the Royal Stable, the Grande Écurie of Versailles, an impressive structure that could accommodate up to six hundred horses. Constructed during the 17th century under the watchful eye of Jules Hardouin-Mansart, the Royal Stables have been home to the Equestrian Arts Academy (Académie du spectacle équestre) since 2003.

The Great Stables or Royal Stable, the Grande Écurie, at the Palace of Versailles
Les Croupes – close up

Les Croupes, which portrays twenty-four horses from behind is rather an unusual compositions as it features the hindquarters and not the heads of twenty-four horses in three neat rows. Surprisingly there is one defiant horse that stands out as it is turned around facing us, the audience. I cannot help but attribute lightness and humor to this rather unusual arrangement and composition.

Perhaps charmed by this as well was what inspired Philippe Ledoux to reproduce the Les Coupes as a drawing for his 1969, L’Arriere-Main, now highly sought-after design.

L’ARRIERE-MAIN HERMÈS SILK SCARF VINTAGE LEDOUX 1969 – AVAILABLE

Surprisingly Monsieur Ledoux omits the rebellious horse in his drawing but includes the same checkered blankets that are very often found in Géricault’s other paintings. Perhaps it will remain a mystery why Ledoux left the defiant horse out, but included the horse blankets, which undoubtedly link his design to the French master’s. With this the L’Arriere-Main Hermès carré features three rows but only twenty-three hindquarters and not the twenty-four from its original Inspiration.

L’ARRIERE-MAIN HERMES SCARF BY PHILIPPE LEDOUX 90 CM SILK TWILL 1969 – RARE – SOLD

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.