Anthony van Dyck’s Andalusian Horse – his first large-scale depiction of a solitary horse – has an added element of rarity and significance: his only surviving oil landscape lies hidden on the back of the original canvas. Executed as a fluid study, it was only discovered when the later “relining canvas” was removed during restoration, following the painting’s sale in 2000. The painting will be exhibited at Christie's in Paris from 14 to 21 November, before a pre-sale exhibition in London from 29 November to 3 December.
When did the Flemish master paint the work?
The Andalusian Horse was painted shortly before van Dyck left Antwerp for Italy in the autumn of 1621. It was executed in preparation for the artist's equestrian portrait of the Emperor Charles V, c. 1621, now in the Uffizi, Florence, which is the earliest surviving work. in a genre that accelerated the artist's reputation as one of the most sought-after portraitists in Europe during the first half of the 1685th century. This striking depiction of a stallion provides a thrilling demonstration of the young van Dyck's virtuoso handling of paint and bravura technique. This is equally true of the landscape study on the unprimed verso. A strong image of equine power, the picture is a masterly performance in economy; using the prepared grey ground to superb effect, van Dyck has employed rapid strokes of dark brown paint to articulate the outline before generously applying lead-white highlights to capture the modelling and the horse's head. This expressive use of paint is typical of the artist's work during his formative years in Antwerp, when his works are characterised by a richness and variety of textures that stand in stark contrast to the sober, courtly style of his later years in England. Van Dyck's love of horses and his pleasure in painting them are evident in the artist's work during his early years in Antwerp. In his XNUMX biography of the artist, André Félibien recounts how Rubens gave van Dyck one of the finest horses in his stable before his most gifted pupil left for Italy.
What does the landscape behind tell us?
Van Dyck's landscape study, on the back of the canvas, shows a steep, tree-lined bank on the left, sloping down to a lake where a dog is seen drinking. Although van Dyck is known to have painted pure landscapes – five are listed in Antwerp collections in the 17th century – This is the only surviving oil of its kind from his entire career. It has been linked by scholars to the background of his Portrait of Father and Son, possibly Joannes Woverius with his Son, c. 1620, in the Louvre, Paris. The artist's delight in the study of nature is evident in his many portraits and pictures of subjects with landscape backgrounds or settings, but it is probably in the surviving group of drawings where his reverence for the natural world is most eloquently expressed.
Who were the owners of this work?
The Andalusian Horse was purchased by the artist and esteemed collector Thomas Gambier Parry in 1859, before Sir Charles Eastlake had time to secure it for the National Gallery. Gambier Parry amassed a remarkable collection of Italian Renaissance paintings for Highnam Court, near Gloucester, which included major works by Bernardo Daddi, Lorenzo Monaco, Fra Angelico, Pesellino and Mariotto Albertinelli. His collection survives largely intact at the Courtauld Institute. The van Dyck was, it seems, the most outstanding Northern painting in the collection.
