De La Guérinière Prints | The Piaffe

Expertly printed on luxurious 200gsm fine art paper with an elegant smooth finish, each piece is produced using a museum-grade giclée process. We use only the highest quality UV- or pigment-based inks, ensuring exceptional color depth and archival longevity: creating resistance to fading for over a century under suitable conditions.

We offer our prints in two size formats: inches and centimeters. If you’re in a region where inches are the framing standard (such as the US), we recommend selecting the inch-based sizes. For countries using the metric system, the centimeter variants are the best choice.

Our prints are designed to fit standard frame sizes, including those with or without a passe-partout (mat). For the most refined presentation, we recommend using a passe-partout, as it enhances the artwork’s visual impact.

Please note that for the common 20 x 29 cm passe-partout window, our A4 print size (21 x 29.7 cm) fits optimally.

For a 29 x 39 cm window, our 30 x 40 cm prints are the best choice.

Please note that some borders might be visible, based on the artwork. We design our products to accommodate to modern frames, but this is sometimes unavoidable based on the original dimensions of the artwork.

Unlike the modern interpretation, de La Guérinière described the piaffe as a passage on the spot, while the passage itself was considered a moving piaffe. Indeed, the passage described a movement that went forward just 32 centimeters (12.5 inches) with every step, resulting in a deeply collected, rhythmically cadenced motion. The level of collection displayed in both passage and piaffe allowed for pronounced flexion of the hind limbs and a distinct elevation of the forehand. Indeed, this produced a movement of exceptional beauty and refinement.

De La Guérinière notes that the piaffe held particular favor among Spanish riding masters, who admired its brilliance and difficulty. Horses that executed the movement with extraordinary grace were called Piaffadores, a title of high regard. Spanish and Neapolitan breeds, he adds, possessed a natural aptitude for this spectacular gait, something that we can still glimpse today in the PRE and Lusitano breeds.

These ideals are exquisitely illustrated in this engraving by Charles Parrocel, featuring Monsieur de Kraut in perfect form. The image is a testament to both equestrian mastery and artistic finesse - a snapshot of the ideal piaffe as envisioned by the classical school.

The identity of Monsieur de Kraut remains somewhat elusive. Though the name became widely recognized through its appearance in L’École de Cavalerie, historical records provide only a tentative match: a Jean Étienne de Kraut, residing in Paris between 1690 and 1758. Whether this is the same individual remains uncertain. 

Interestingly, not all editions of de La Guérinière’s work included these elaborate engravings. Simpler versions were often published under alternate titles such as Éléments de Cavalerie or Manuel de Cavalerie, without the finely attributed plates. It is possible that these detailed illustrations, including this print, were perhaps underwritten by aristocratic patrons drawn to the prestige of appearing within such a seminal equestrian work.