“Standing Horse in Pasture”
Georg Wolf (Germany 1882-1962)
Oil on canvas
Signed and dated 1911 lower left
19 1/2 x 23 1/2 (30 1/2 x 26 1/2 frame) inches
 
First notice the muzzle and how it's handled. Wolf, with profound understanding of the creature and it's anatomy, captured the nearly prehensile qualities of the horse's mouth. Most notably the lips and chin express softness and mobility of that part of the face. It's pretty astonishing. 
 
The exquisite brushwork and use of layers of complementary and contrasting color gives a tremendous sense of depth and palpable sense of life.  The execution light and shadow of the horse's coat has an incredible almost life-like sheen much like a recently brushed horse. 
 
A German animal and landscape painter from the Düsseldorf Art Academy. Wolf was a master student of Professor Julius Paul Junghanns who then continued his studies at the Heinrich von Zugel Animal Painting School from 1909-1914.
 
Americans studying at the Dusseldorf School included George Caleb Bingham, Albert Bierstadt, Eastman Johnson, et. al