Gladys Morante
Morante was born in Peru in 1963. She grew up as the daughter of a professional jockey. As a child, her father’s dedication to horses caused her to hold scorn for the animals and anything related. Her feelings shifted when Morante, at the age of 14, released her contempt for horses and followed in her father’s footsteps to become a jockey. She attempted to pursue a career as a jockey, but to no avail. With no clear direction after high school, she met a horse portrait artist with whom she began working and this proved to be the start of an important and long-lasting friendship.
The artist mentored Morante. She began contributing directly to his portraits through under painting, which involves applying the first layer of paint that serves as the base for additional layers of paint. Morante’s latent talent quickly became apparent; the artist suggested she join the School of Arts. She took his advice graduating with honors.
Morante initially wished to pursue cartooning, but instead took a path in advertising and design. She even considered a career in veterinary medicine with a focus on smaller animals.
Morante’s inspiration for portraying horses came from the beauty found in the anatomy of the animals. As she continued to study them, she was taken by their spiritual side, believing they represent freedom, strength and energy. She strives to infuse these emotions and feelings into her paintings, depicting the horses in the midst of strong movements. However, her talent for beautifully capturing the physicality of horses did not come easily.
“I had taken four years studying the human figure, but not four years of the animal figure, therefore I had to discover it by myself,” she said.
Morante’s technique is a combination of oil paint and various textures she achieves using everything from acrylic and cardboard to sand and pebbles. The majority of her horses are painted white to give them metaphysical and philosophical qualities. Her use of warm colors depicts vigor, while the violet tones in the faces give her horses more spiritual and celestial traits.
Morante has participated in numerous exhibitions around the world, including several held at prestigious locations such as the Embassy of Spain, the United States Embassy, El Museo de la Nación, Galeria Borkas and the Russian Cultural Institute.