Study for an Equestrian Portrait, Possibly that of Albert de Ligne, Count of Arenberg; verso: Various Studies of Statues and Figures, Including the Venus Pudica and Scipio and his Lictor
Van Dyck probably made this drawing as a preparatory study for the lifesize equestrian portrait of Albert de Ligne, prince of Brabançon and Arenberg (Holkham Hall, Norfolk), which he painted about 1628–32. The sitter was commander in chief of the Spanish forces in Bohemia, Westphalia, and the Netherlands. Van Dyck's choice of a rear view adds decorative bravado to the image by integrating the horse's flowing mane and tail with the sitter's elegant sash and dashing feathered hat.
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Title:Study for an Equestrian Portrait, Possibly that of Albert de Ligne, Count of Arenberg; verso: Various Studies of Statues and Figures, Including the Venus Pudica and Scipio and his Lictor
Artist:Anthony van Dyck (Flemish, Antwerp 1599–1641 London)
Date:ca. 1628–32
Medium:Pen and brown ink; verso: pen and brown ink, black chalk
Dimensions:9 1/16 x 9 5/8 in. (23 x 24.5 cm)
Classification:Drawings
Credit Line:Gift of Harold K. Hochschild, 1940
Accession Number:40.91.16
Inscription: At lower left, inscribed "The Count of Arenberg by Vandyke" pen and brown ink (19th-century handwriting). Verso: at bottom center, inscribed "prins moúris van van Dyk orgenael." , in pen and brown ink (18th-century handwriting); below, inscribed "12" in graphite (20th-century handwriting)
Possibly Nicodemus Tessin, the Younger (Swedish); possibly acquired by Thomas Herbert, 8th Earl of Pembroke (British), and then by descent; Henry Herbert, 10th Earl of Pembroke (British), by 1772; by descent to Reginald Herbert, 15th Earl of Pembroke (British); his sale, Sotheby's, London, July 5–10, 1917, lot 378; Junius Spencer Morgan (American); his sale, Anderson Galleries, New York (American), February 18, 1921, lot 66; Richard Ederheimer (American)
Philadelphia Museum of Art. "Diamond Jubilee Exhibition, Masterpieces of Drawing," November 4, 1950–February 11, 1951.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Drawings and Prints: Selections from the Permanent Collection," April 28–July 27, 2003.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Drawings and Prints: Selections from the Permanent Collection," January 24–April 24, 2005.
New York. Frick Collection. "Van Dyck: The Anatomy of Portraiture," March 2–June 5, 2016.
Sandford Arthur Strong Reproductions in Facsimile of Drawings by the Old Masters in the Collection of the Earl of Pembroke and Montgomery at Wilton House. London, 1900, fig. no. 21, ill.
Heinrich Leporini Die Stilentwicklung der Handzeichnung: XIV. bis XVII. Jahrhundert. vols. 14-18, Vienna, 1925, cat. no. 226, fig. no. 226, p. 70, ill.
Arthur Ewart Popham British Museum Quarterly. British Museum, vol. 12, London, 1938, p. 50.
Hermann Warner Williams, Jr. "A Gift of Prints and Drawings: The Drawings." The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, vol. 35, no. 8, New York, August 1940, pp. 156, 157, ill.
Walter Mehring European Drawings from the Collections of The Metropolitan Museum of Art: A Portfolio of Collotype Reproductions [Vol. 1: Italian Drawings; Vol. 2: Flemish, Dutch, German, Spanish, French, and British drawings; Vol. 3: "New Series": Italian, Flemish, Dutch, German, Spanish, French, and British drawings]. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 3 vols., New York, 1942–44, also N.S., no. 19., cat. no. 2 (vol.2), fig. no. 2, ill.
Hans Tietze European Master Drawings in the United States. J. J. Augustin, New York, 1947, cat. no. 62, p. 124, ill.
Masterpieces of Drawing: Diamond Jubilee Exhibition Philadelphia Museum of Art, November 4, 1950–February 11, 1951. Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, 1950, no. 50, ill.
Horst Vey, Roger-A. d'Hulst Antoon van Dyck: Tekeningen en Olieverfschetsen. Exh. cat.: July 1-August 21. 1960, cat. no. 88, fig. no. LVII, pp. 125-127, ill.
Horst Vey Die Zeichnungen Anton van Dycks. Brussels, 1962, cat. no. 187, fig. no. 227, pp. 257-258, ill.
Jacob Bean 100 European Drawings in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York: New York Graphic Society, 1964, cat. no. 82, ill.
Jacob Bean Flemish Drawings and Prints of the 17th Century. Exh. cat.: Prints and Drawings Galleries, February 17 through April 15. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1970, cat. no. 7, p. 5.
Erik Larsen Van Dyck 1626-1641. Milan, 1980, cat. no. O, fig. no. O, p. 12, ill.
Springfield Museum of Fine Arts, Speed Art Museum Glorious Horsemen: Equestrian Art in Europe, 1500-1800. Ex. cat., September 27, 1981-November 29, 1981, January 11-February 28, 1982. Springfield, 1981, cat. no. 70, fig. no. 70, p. 122, ill.
Walter Liedtke Flemish Paintings in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, vol. 1, New York, 1984, fig. no. 17, p. 85, ill.
Christopher Brown The Drawings of Anthony van Dyck. New York, 1991, cat. no. 53, pp. 188-189, ill.
David Howarth "The Drawings of Van Dyck." Apollo. Apollo Magazine, vol. 136, London, August 1992, p. 127.
J. Douglas Stewart "Mariette's Louvre Van Dyck Drawing, the Countenance of Scipio: Date, Function and Influence." Gazette des Beaux-Arts. Gazette des Beaux-Arts, vol. 121, no. 1491, April 1993, fig. no. 10, pp. 188-189, ill.
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