Cacasenno Riding a Horse Backwards

Giuseppe Maria Crespi and Ludovico Mattioli

National Gallery of Art

The image shows a person sitting sideways on a horse. The person is seated as though riding the horse backward, with their face and body turned to look over the horse's rump. The person has a masculine appearance with a smooth face, a distinctive nose, and short, dark hair partially covered by a headscarf. They wear a loose-fitting garment with long sleeves and a sash at the waist, and their feet are placed in stirrups. One hand rests on the horse's back. The horse is mid-stride, with texture in its mane and tail, giving a sense of motion. In the background, there are trees and a hilly landscape beneath a sky with stylized clouds. The scene is rendered in an etching style, and there is an inscription at the bottom in Italian.