DOI issue:
Nr. 3
DOI article:Artykuły
DOI article:Kossowski, Maciej Dariusz: Jeździec polski Antoona Van Dycka - studium przedstawienia
DOI Page / Citation link:https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.70770#0515
508
Maciej Dariusz Kossowski
blanket. Instead of bridles, he his holding a twine of
two ropes tied in a knot. These elements may suggest
a breaking-in scene. The steed, however, is not wild
and untamed, as its hooves are already shoed.
The human figure, though shown from the back,
as we see no face, seems to be a teenage one, this
being demonstrated by the proportions of the torso
to the remaining body parts, as well as by small
right-hand fingers. The rider is holding his right arm
raised almost horizontally. The thumb and middle
finger of his right hand lift the reins, while his left
hand, clasping them violently, pulls the horse’s head
to the right. This very motion has twisted the youth’s
torso in the same direction. The firm movement of
the left hand is balanced by the right one,
comfortably raised, and delicately, almost
exquisitely, taking hold of the reins in a theatrical
manner. The rider’s seat is correct, confident, and
with much ease. He keeps his torso up straight
(though twisted to the right due to the conducted
turn), with his shoulders aligned and loosely
dropped, his head raised above them, the thigh
diagonally heading forward, the knee and calf
touching the horse along the girth (part of which is
only visible by the blanket), with his toes slightly
pulled away from the horse. All these elements prove
excellent equestrian skills. Only the feet, not resting
on stirrups, drop down.
The presentation is not a portrait, but a genre
scene which the artist must have considered
enchanting in order to render it on canvas.
Scrutinizing Van Dyck’s life chronology in the
period that interests us, i.e. from 1607 to 1641, it is
impossible to unequivocally identify the place where
he could see such a scene. Therefore, one has to, first
of all, base on the iconography of the painting. The
rays of the setting sun and shadows cast on the right-
hand side of the painting, parallel to the coast,
suggest that the sea is to the south, which should
eliminate the Netherlands, particularly Frisia and
Flanders, also due to a relatively high coast. The
only exception could be a bay, yet this location is out
of the question due to the coastal embankment,
soaring far too high for those peninsulas. The
options left are Italy, around e.g., Genoa, or the
southern coast of England with the view of the
English Channel. On the other hand, however, it is
likely that the staffage is totally irrelevant to any
definite location. The artist, seeing a rider anywhere,
could have associated the vigour of his moves with a
vast open space in some landscape, contrasting the
violent movement of the man and animal with the
calm sea.
Certain similarities in the composition of the
horse’s silhouette, its movement, locating of the steed
on the edge of an embankment and on the coast,
can be found in numerous Van Dyck’s works, for
example in An Andalusian Horse from the private
collection of Etienne Breton; A Grey Horse from the
Dulwich Picture Gallery; as well as in A Rearing
Stallion by the same artist, not included in the
complete catalogue of Van Dyck’s works, auctioned
at Christie’s in New York in 2012. A similar
arrangement of the horse’s legs can be found in the
Equestrian Portrait of Emperor Charles V from the
Galleria degli Uffizi in Florence. The motif of the
rider’s body twist, though in a different com-
positional arrangement, is confirmed by the sketch
from the Christ Church Picture Gallery in Oxford.
Polish attire was not unfamiliar to Anthony van
Dyck, who portrayed his friend Marten Ryckaert,
painter of small landscape, wearing the costume of
a Polish magnate (Madrid, Museo Nacional del
Prado).
Is it thus true that the Polish Rider is by Van
Dyck? All the above-named features, as much as
making such an assumption more credulous, cannot
unequivocally confirm this attribution without
further detailed analytical tests. Certain traits, such
as a monumental scale, confident brush strokes,
expressiveness of the presentation, the daring
posture of the rider, account for a first-rate artist,
such as Rubens and Van Dyck. Moreover, the
composition is impeccably arranged. None of the
earlier masters, not even Titian, El Greco, or
Velazquez, had been able to depict a moving horse
so realistically.
The painting is undoubtedly an interesting study
of the movement of a rider and a steed. Furthermore,
it constitutes an iconographic work important for
Polish cultural legacy, making it immediately follow
Rembrandt’s Polish Rider (The Frick Collection).
Translated by Magdalena Iwińska
Maciej Dariusz Kossowski
blanket. Instead of bridles, he his holding a twine of
two ropes tied in a knot. These elements may suggest
a breaking-in scene. The steed, however, is not wild
and untamed, as its hooves are already shoed.
The human figure, though shown from the back,
as we see no face, seems to be a teenage one, this
being demonstrated by the proportions of the torso
to the remaining body parts, as well as by small
right-hand fingers. The rider is holding his right arm
raised almost horizontally. The thumb and middle
finger of his right hand lift the reins, while his left
hand, clasping them violently, pulls the horse’s head
to the right. This very motion has twisted the youth’s
torso in the same direction. The firm movement of
the left hand is balanced by the right one,
comfortably raised, and delicately, almost
exquisitely, taking hold of the reins in a theatrical
manner. The rider’s seat is correct, confident, and
with much ease. He keeps his torso up straight
(though twisted to the right due to the conducted
turn), with his shoulders aligned and loosely
dropped, his head raised above them, the thigh
diagonally heading forward, the knee and calf
touching the horse along the girth (part of which is
only visible by the blanket), with his toes slightly
pulled away from the horse. All these elements prove
excellent equestrian skills. Only the feet, not resting
on stirrups, drop down.
The presentation is not a portrait, but a genre
scene which the artist must have considered
enchanting in order to render it on canvas.
Scrutinizing Van Dyck’s life chronology in the
period that interests us, i.e. from 1607 to 1641, it is
impossible to unequivocally identify the place where
he could see such a scene. Therefore, one has to, first
of all, base on the iconography of the painting. The
rays of the setting sun and shadows cast on the right-
hand side of the painting, parallel to the coast,
suggest that the sea is to the south, which should
eliminate the Netherlands, particularly Frisia and
Flanders, also due to a relatively high coast. The
only exception could be a bay, yet this location is out
of the question due to the coastal embankment,
soaring far too high for those peninsulas. The
options left are Italy, around e.g., Genoa, or the
southern coast of England with the view of the
English Channel. On the other hand, however, it is
likely that the staffage is totally irrelevant to any
definite location. The artist, seeing a rider anywhere,
could have associated the vigour of his moves with a
vast open space in some landscape, contrasting the
violent movement of the man and animal with the
calm sea.
Certain similarities in the composition of the
horse’s silhouette, its movement, locating of the steed
on the edge of an embankment and on the coast,
can be found in numerous Van Dyck’s works, for
example in An Andalusian Horse from the private
collection of Etienne Breton; A Grey Horse from the
Dulwich Picture Gallery; as well as in A Rearing
Stallion by the same artist, not included in the
complete catalogue of Van Dyck’s works, auctioned
at Christie’s in New York in 2012. A similar
arrangement of the horse’s legs can be found in the
Equestrian Portrait of Emperor Charles V from the
Galleria degli Uffizi in Florence. The motif of the
rider’s body twist, though in a different com-
positional arrangement, is confirmed by the sketch
from the Christ Church Picture Gallery in Oxford.
Polish attire was not unfamiliar to Anthony van
Dyck, who portrayed his friend Marten Ryckaert,
painter of small landscape, wearing the costume of
a Polish magnate (Madrid, Museo Nacional del
Prado).
Is it thus true that the Polish Rider is by Van
Dyck? All the above-named features, as much as
making such an assumption more credulous, cannot
unequivocally confirm this attribution without
further detailed analytical tests. Certain traits, such
as a monumental scale, confident brush strokes,
expressiveness of the presentation, the daring
posture of the rider, account for a first-rate artist,
such as Rubens and Van Dyck. Moreover, the
composition is impeccably arranged. None of the
earlier masters, not even Titian, El Greco, or
Velazquez, had been able to depict a moving horse
so realistically.
The painting is undoubtedly an interesting study
of the movement of a rider and a steed. Furthermore,
it constitutes an iconographic work important for
Polish cultural legacy, making it immediately follow
Rembrandt’s Polish Rider (The Frick Collection).
Translated by Magdalena Iwińska