Which 1812 painting by Théodore Géricault depicts a cavalry officer on a rearing horse?

The 1812 painting by Théodore Géricault depicting a cavalry officer on a rearing horse is The Charging Chasseur.

Also known as An Officer of the Imperial Horse Guards Charging, the oil painting shows an officer of Napoleon’s Mounted Chasseurs of the Imperial Guard turning dramatically on horseback. The horse appears to rear away from an unseen attacker, creating the painting’s unstable, diagonal energy.

The work was Géricault’s first exhibited painting and appeared at the Paris Salon of 1812, where it won a medal. Its dynamic pose and vigorous handling reflect French Romanticism, while the composition recalls Jacques-Louis David’s Napoleon Crossing the Alps. Géricault’s lifelong interest in horses also shaped the subject.

A common mix-up is The Raft of the Medusa, Géricault’s later and more famous masterpiece from 1818–19. The Charging Chasseur is now held by the Louvre in Paris.