Equestrian portrait of King Charles I, full-length, in armour on a dun horse, a baton in his right hand, wearing the Order of the Garter, followed by an equerry carrying his helmet

Details

After Sir Anthony van Dyck
Equestrian portrait of King Charles I, full-length, in armour on a dun horse, a baton in his right hand, wearing the Order of the Garter, followed by an equerry carrying his helmet
oil on canvas
37 3/8 x 33 in. (94.9 x 83.8 cm.)

Provenance

with Norbert Fischmann, Munich.
with Jacques Goudstikker, Amsterdam, 1928.
Looted by the Nazi authorities, July 1940.
Recovered by the Allies, 1945.
in the custody of the Dutch Government.
Restituted in February 2006 to the heir of Jacques Goudstikker.

Literature

C. Wright, Paintings in Dutch Museums. An Index of Oil Paintings in Public Collections in The Netherlands by Artists born before 1870, London, 1980, p. 108.
B.M.J. Brenninkmeyer-de Roy, Schilderijengalerij Prins Willem V (The Prince William V Gallery of Paintings), The Hague, 1982, no. 19. Old Master Paintings: An illustrated summary catalogue, Rijksdienst Beelende Kunst (The Netherlandish Office for the Fine Arts), The Hague, 1992, p. 92, no. 674, illustrated, as Antoon van Dyck, replica.

Exhibited

Amsterdam, Jacques Goudstikker Gallery, Catalogue des Nouvelles Acquisitions de la Collection Goudstikker, October-November 1928, no. 9.
Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum, Tentoonstelling van Oude Kunst door de Vereeniging van handelaren in Oude Kunst in Nederland, 1929, no. 45. The Hague, Schilderijenzaal Prins Willem V, on loan.

Special notice

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Lot Essay

The prototype for this picture was painted in circa 1637, shortly before the outbreak of the Civil War which led to the King's execution in 1649, and hung in the Prince's Gallery at Hampton Court (National Gallery, London) (see S.J. Barnes, N. de Poorter, O. Millar and H. Vey, Van Dyck - A Complete Catalogue of the Paintings, New Haven and London, 2004, pp. 468-71, no. IV.51). The design is a reinterpretation by Van Dyck of Titian's equestrian portrait of Charles V in the Prado, which also inspired Rubens' portraits of Philip IV and the Cardinal-Infant Ferdinand (Prado, Madrid). The prime version by Van Dyck was one of the many works sold in the Charles I sale (21 June 1650) and taken abroad. It was acquired by Sir Balthasar Gerbier and later owned by Gisbert van Ceulen, who sold it to Duke Maximilian II Emanuel, Elector of Bavaria, Governor of the Spanish Netherlands, in 1698. It was then looted by the Emperor Joseph I from Munich and given by him to 1st Duke of Marlborough in November 1706. The picture was then by descent until it was sold by 8th Duke of Marlborough to the National Gallery in 1885. The present copy may also have derived from the complete modello which, painted in circa 1635-6 and placed in the Chair Room at Whitehall, remained in England (Royal Collection, Windsor Castle).

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