The prototype for the fair-haired hero on the winged stallion and hence the nimble pose, was the spirit of the classical dancer Julian Hosking, a muse for Durand not just as a subject for his painting, but in life.
Hosking’s career with the Royal Ballet was distinguished but brief – he died in 1989 at the age of thirty-four – but not before he combined his dancing with studies of Egyptology, astrology and Italian painting.
Hosking worked with Durand for over a decade and was often to be found researching subject matter for the artist as well as embodying for Durand the ideal male nude. A pivotal partnership, Durand pays homage to his dancer in PEGASUS.
