Castore

In this quick, sketchy rendering, a young man wearing only a cape prepares to mount a massive horse with raised front and rear hooves. The bold arc of the horse’s turned neck and the f lare of its tail reveal a contained energy and readiness to run. The young man is Castor, in Greek mythology one of the twin boys born to the human Leda after she was seduced by the god Zeus. Castor and his brother Pollux were expert horsemen and hunters. They hunted the Calydonian Boar, participated in the destruction of enemy cities and abducted the daughters of Leucippus, who later bore their children. In death, the twins became two bright stars in the constellation Gemini.