Races at Longchamps - II

Races at Longchamps — II was painted in 1883, revisiting a subject in which De Nittis competed directly with Manet and Degas, both of whom had immortalised Longchamp on canvas. The Hippodrome de Longchamp in the Bois de Boulogne was the most fashionable racing venue in Paris, drawing the cream of Parisian society each spring and autumn. For De Nittis, who had established himself as a painter of modern Parisian social life, the racetrack offered a subject combining elegant crowds, high-keyed outdoor light, and spectacle. His treatment distinguished itself from Degas's through greater emphasis on the social spectacle of the crowd over the technical mechanics of the horses in motion. The designation —II indicates this was part of a sequence of racetrack compositions consistent with his practice of working through a subject in multiple related canvases.

The composition contrasts the open light-flooded turf of the course against the dense visual texture of the fashionably dressed crowd. Brushwork is rapid and animated in the crowd sections, summarising figures with economical gestural marks, while sky and grass use broader passages.