AUTHOR’S NOTE
281 Words
AUTHOR’S NOTEGeorge Stubbs was one of the greatest of English painters.
For some time he was underrated by being labelled ‘Mr. Stubbs, the Horse Painter’.
Gradually, however, people began to realise how important he was and he then achieved equal recognition with his contemporaries, Reynolds and Gainsborough, in the foremost rank of British Art.
No one but Stubbs could produce such originality in his paintings of animals and he also had a similar genius in his portraiture of human beings.
Sportsmen have collected Stubbs ever since he first started to paint horses. The Queen and other members of the Royal Family have his paintings in their collections.
The cheetah, which Stubbs portrayed so brilliantly in one of his pictures, is the fastest mammal in the world over a short distance.
The name ‘cheetah’ originated in India and means ‘the spotted one’.
In history the cheetah was used as an emblem on the reliefs and friezes of the Ancient Egyptians where they exemplified courage and speed.
There are records of the cheetah being a Royal pet of Genghis Khan and the Emperor Charlemagne.
For many years Indian Princes used to hunt with them, training them to run up game for them, but since 1930 there is no record of a cheetah living wild in India and they now exist only in parts of Africa.
The cheetah purrs like a cat when he is pleased and happy, his whole body vibrating like a motor car engine.
They will lick the face of anyone they particularly like, but to nibble someone’s ear is a sign of great affection.
A recent census has discovered that, while the cheetah is still to be found, they will only survive if they are protected.
- Writer
