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18 June - 14 September 2008
Dressage, an exhibition suggested by Agarttha Arte, is part of the project entitled "Piedmont: a Definition", based on commissions from major photographers.
Following on from Alain Fleischer in 2007, William Klein has been given carte blanche to produce an artistic work. Usually a photographer of crowds, demonstrations and sports events, he had never before turned his attention to the world of equestrianism. Here he focuses on the 2007 European dressage championships held at the International Horse Centre at the Venaria Reale in Turin.
Of the three Olympic disciplines, showjumping, eventing and dressage, the last is certainly the least spectacular and the most difficult to explain to the uninitiated.
And yet the idea of dressage is simple, and forms the basis of all competitive and academic horsemanship: it involves making the horse assume its natural gait when its balance has been altered by the weight of a rider.
In the 5th century BC, Xenophon noted that "guided by a light hand... raising his neck and gracefully pulling back his head, he will assume the proud, noble demeanour he naturally enjoys, for when he returns with other horses, particularly mares, this is when he will raise his neck the most, bringing back its head with a proud, lively air, lifting its legs softly and carrying its tail high. Each time we can make him do what he does naturally when he wants to appear beautiful, we will have a horse that works with pleasure and appears lively, noble and superb." François Faverot de Kerbrech, Napoléon III's last equerry, confirmed this when he wrote in 1891 that in order to be easy and pleasant to ride, a horse "must be well-balanced, straight at the shoulder and withers, with its head constantly still and well-positioned, and it must keep its balance on its own... all defensiveness and instinctive resistance must have disappeared. For a horse to shine, we must be able to seat it, broaden its movements and make it pick up its feet at will". But these simple principles are expressed via academic figures that have become coded over time and which can appear artificial and mannered.
William Klein's genius lies in the way he has chosen to look at the somewhat closed milieu of dressage as an outsider, avoiding all forms of didacticism. The result is supremely pertinent: the impeccable elegance of a Portuguese horseman riding by, the endless waiting in the horseboxes and stables, the team's excitement about their 'champions' or on the podium, and most of all the children, with their smiles and their delightful rapport with the horses. These pictures truly convey the life, the colour and the warmth of the world of dressage.
Alain Sayag
Exhibition supported by the Piedmont Region, the Fondation CRT, Compagnia di San Paolo, UniCredit Group, Bentley S.o.A S.p.A and Dupon.
Curated by Adele Re Rebaudengo and Jean-Luc Monterosso
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