Weintraub Gallery, New York (acquired by 1968)
Sale: Sotheby's, New York, October 5, 1981, lot 306
Tasende Gallery, La Jolla (acquired at the above sale)
Acquired from the above

Cavallo e cavaliere is a striking example of Marini's most celebrated theme, that of the horse and rider. In choosing the subject, he draws upon a long established tradition of equestrian painting and sculpture. From small-scale votive renderings of early civilizations to grand and triumphant statues of modern-day military leaders, the theme holds a long and prominent place in Western art. 

As the artist himself commented: “For many centuries, the image of the rider has maintained an epic character. Its object was to pay homage to a conqueror, as, for example, Marcus Aurelius whose statue on the Capitol inspired the majority of the equestrian statues of the Italian Renaissance, as well as that of Louis XIV, which ornaments the Place des Victoires in Paris” (quoted in Patrick Waldberg, Herbert Read & Gualtieri di San Lazzaro, Marino Marini, Complete Works, New York, 1970, p. 491).

Marini chooses to reinterpret this theme and his horses and riders acquire a spiritual character, becoming timeless symbols of humanity. In 1958, the artist wrote: “As far as I am concerned, I no longer have any intention of celebrating the victory of a hero. I would like to express something tragic, a sort of twilight of unity, more of a defeat than a victory. If you look at the statues of horsemen I have mode over the last twelve years, one after the other, you will see that the rider is less able to control his horse each time and that the animal stiffens into an ever wilder state of fear, instead or rearing up. I seriously believe that we heading toward the end of a world” (Marco Meneguzzo, Marino Marini, Cavalli e cavalieri, Milan, 1997, p. 22).