The ''Equestrian Portrait of Charles I'' (also known as ''Charles I on Horseback'') is a large

oil painting Oil painting is the process of painting with pigments with a medium of drying oil as the binder. It has been the most common technique for artistic painting on wood panel or canvas for several centuries, spreading from Europe to the rest of ...

on canvas by Anthony van Dyck, showing

Charles I Charles I may refer to: Kings and emperors * Charlemagne (742–814), numbered Charles I in the lists of Holy Roman Emperors and French kings * Charles I of Anjou (1226–1285), also king of Albania, Jerusalem, Naples and Sicily * Charles I of ...

on horseback. Charles I had become King of England,

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

and

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

in 1625 on the death of his father

James I James I may refer to: People *James I of Aragon (1208–1276) *James I of Sicily or James II of Aragon (1267–1327) *James I, Count of La Marche (1319–1362), Count of Ponthieu *James I, Count of Urgell (1321–1347) *James I of Cyprus (1334–13 ...

, and Van Dyck became Charles's

Principal Painter in Ordinary The title of Principal Painter in Ordinary to the King or Queen of England or, later, Great Britain, was awarded to a number of artists, nearly all mainly portraitists. It was different from the role of Serjeant Painter, and similar to the earlie ...

in 1632. The portrait is thought to have been painted in about 1637–38, only a few years before the

English Civil War The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians (" Roundheads") and Royalists led by Charles I ("Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of England's governance and issues of re ...

broke out in 1642. It is one of many portraits of Charles by Van Dyck, including several

equestrian portrait An equestrian portrait is a portrait that shows the subject on horseback. Equestrian portraits suggest a high-status sitter, who in many cases was a monarch or other member of the nobility, and the portraits can also carry a suggestion of chivalry ...

s. It is held by the

National Gallery The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London, England. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of over 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The current Director ...

, London.''Equestrian Portrait of Charles I''
National Gallery

Background

This is the second

of Charles to be painted by Van Dyck. Charles is depicted wearing the same suit of armour, riding a heavily muscled dun horse with a peculiarly small head. To the right, a page proffers a helmet. Charles appears as a heroic philosopher king, contemplatively surveying his domain, carrying a baton of command, with a long sword to his side, and wearing the medallion of the Sovereign of the Order of the Garter. His melancholy, distant expression was seen as a sign of wisdom. He wears the same suit of

tilt Tilt may refer to: Music * Tilt (American band), a punk rock group, formed in 1992 * Tilt (British band), an electronic music group, formed in 1993 * Tilt (Polish band), a rock band, formed in 1979 Albums * ''Tilt'' (Cozy Powell album), 1981 * ...

armour in both equestrian paintings (although the last Royal tilt had been held in 1616, and another proposed in 1622 had been abandoned due to bad weather). A tablet tied to a branch reads (Charles I King of Great Britain) – a political statement at the time, only 33 years after James had

united United may refer to: Places * United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Arts and entertainment Films * ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film * ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two f ...

the crowns of Scotland and England, and proclaimed himself King of Great Britain, and nearly 70 years before the Acts of Union legally created the

Kingdom of Great Britain The Kingdom of Great Britain (officially Great Britain) was a Sovereign state, sovereign country in Western Europe from 1 May 1707 to the end of 31 December 1800. The state was created by the 1706 Treaty of Union and ratified by the Acts of ...

. An earlier equestrian portrait, '' Charles I with M. de St Antoine'', c. 1633, depicts Charles under a

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

triumphal arch A triumphal arch is a free-standing monumental structure in the shape of an archway with one or more arched passageways, often designed to span a road. In its simplest form a triumphal arch consists of two massive piers connected by an arch, cro ...

, clad in armour and accompanied by his riding master, Pierre Antoine Bourdon, Seigneur de St Antoine. Van Dyck painted one other major portrait of Charles I with a horse: '' Charles I at the Hunt'' (''Le Roi à la chasse'', c.1635, now in the

Louvre The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is the world's most-visited museum, and an historic landmark in Paris, France. It is the home of some of the best-known works of art, including the ''Mona Lisa'' and the ''Venus de Milo''. A central l ...

), which depicts Charles standing next to a horse in civilian clothing, as if resting on a hunt, wearing a wide-brimmed

Cavalier The term Cavalier () was first used by Roundheads as a term of abuse for the wealthier royalist supporters of King Charles I and his son Charles II of England during the English Civil War, the Interregnum, and the Restoration (1642 – ) ...

hat and leaning on a walking cane, gazing at a coastal scene; a picture of "gentlemanly nonchalance and regal assurance". Van Dyck's portraits of Charles on horseback echo the imperial tone of

Titian Tiziano Vecelli or Vecellio (; 27 August 1576), known in English as Titian ( ), was an Italian (Venetian) painter of the Renaissance, considered the most important member of the 16th-century Venetian school. He was born in Pieve di Cadore, nea ...

of Emperor Charles V from 1548, itself inspired by equestrian portraits of Roman emperors. In c.1620, Van Dyck painted a similar portrait of Charles V. The composition may also borrow from Dürer’s 1513 engraving ''

Knight, Death and the Devil ''Knight, Death and the Devil'' (german: Ritter, Tod und Teufel) is a large 1513 engraving by the German artist Albrecht Dürer, one of the three ''Meisterstiche'' (master prints) completed during a period when he almost ceased to work in paint ...

''. This is one of several closely contemporaneous works depicting Charles riding a horse as a means to increase his stature. Charles stood only high, and was keenly conscious of his height. In addition to the paintings, a near life-size

equestrian The word equestrian is a reference to equestrianism, or horseback riding, derived from Latin ' and ', "horse". Horseback riding (or Riding in British English) Examples of this are: * Equestrian sports *Equestrian order, one of the upper classes i ...

statue of Charles I by

Hubert Le Sueur Hubert Le Sueur (c. 1580 – 1658) was a French sculptor with the contemporaneous reputation of having trained in Giambologna's Florentine workshop. He assisted Giambologna's foreman, Pietro Tacca, in Paris, in finishing and erecting the equestria ...

was erected at Charing Cross in 1633 (although originally commissioned in 1630 for Lord Weston's garden in

Roehampton Roehampton is an area in southwest London, in the Putney SW15 postal district, and takes up a far western strip running north to south of the London Borough of Wandsworth. It contains a number of large council house estates and is home to the U ...

; it now stands to the south of

Nelson's Column Nelson's Column is a monument in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, Central London, built to commemorate Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson's decisive victory at the Battle of Trafalgar over the combined French and Spanish navies, during whic ...

Trafalgar Square Trafalgar Square ( ) is a public square in the City of Westminster, Central London, laid out in the early 19th century around the area formerly known as Charing Cross. At its centre is a high column bearing a statue of Admiral Nelson comm ...

). A design by Inigo Jones for a triumphal arch at Temple Bar was intended to bear another equestrian statue of Charles.

Painting materials

The investigation of the painting and its pigment analysis was done by scientists at the National Gallery London. Van Dyck used the usual pigments of his time such as

smalt Cobalt glass—known as "smalt" when ground as a pigment—is a deep blue coloured glass prepared by including a cobalt compound, typically cobalt oxide or cobalt carbonate, in a glass melt. Cobalt is a very intense colouring agent and very litt ...

, ochres,

vermilion Vermilion (sometimes vermillion) is a color, color family, and pigment most often made, since antiquity until the 19th century, from the powdered mineral cinnabar (a form of mercury sulfide, which is toxic) and its corresponding color. It i ...

, red lake and

azurite Azurite is a soft, deep-blue copper mineral produced by weathering of copper ore deposits. During the early 19th century, it was also known as chessylite, after the type locality at Chessy-les-Mines near Lyon, France. The mineral, a basic carb ...

for the rather subdued tones and subtle colours.Van Dyck, Equestrian Portrait of Charles I
illustrated pigment analysis at ColourLex.

Provenance

The painting was listed in the first catalogue of the Royal Collection, compiled in 1637–40. The very large painting, high by wide, was hung at the end of a long gallery at Hampton Court Palace. The Royal Collection was dispersed under the Commonwealth, and the painting was sold to Sir

Balthazar Gerbier Sir Balthazar Gerbier (23 February 1592, in N.S. – 1663), was an Anglo-Dutch courtier, diplomat, art advisor, miniaturist and architectural designer, in his own words fluent in "several languages" with "a good hand in writing, skill in sciences ...

, formerly the king's agent in Antwerp, for £200 on 21 June 1650. It was acquired by Gisbert van Ceulen, who sold it to Maximilian II Emanuel,

Elector of Bavaria The following is a list of rulers during the history of Bavaria. Bavaria was ruled by several dukes and kings, partitioned and reunited, under several dynasties. Since 1949, Bavaria has been a democratic state in the Federal Republic of Germ ...

and

Governor of the Spanish Netherlands The governor ( nl, landvoogd) or governor-general () of the Habsburg Netherlands was a representative appointed by the Holy Roman emperor (1504-1556), the king of Spain (1556-1598, 1621-1706), and the archduke of Austria (1716-1794), to administer ...

, in 1698, but was soon taken from Munich as booty of war by

Emperor Joseph I , father = Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor , mother = Eleonore Magdalene of Neuburg , birth_date = , birth_place = Vienna, Austria , death_date = , death_place = Vienna, Austria , burial_place = Imperial Crypt, Vienna , r ...

. He presented the painting to

John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough General John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, 1st Prince of Mindelheim, 1st Count of Nellenburg, Prince of the Holy Roman Empire, (26 May 1650 – 16 June 1722 O.S.) was an English soldier and statesman whose career spanned the reign ...

, in November 1706. It was displayed at Blenheim Palace until the 8th Duke of Marlborough sold it to the National Gallery in 1895 for £17,500. It is usually exhibited in Room 31. The modern Royal Collection includes a smaller version, possibly a ''

modello A modello (plural modelli), from Italian, is a preparatory study or model, usually at a smaller scale, for a work of art or architecture, especially one produced for the approval of the commissioning patron. The term gained currency in art circl ...

'' but perhaps a reduced later version. File:Anthony van Dyck - Charles I (1600-49) with M. de St Antoine - Google Art Project.jpg, Van Dyck's first equestrian painting of Charles, '' Charles I with Seigneur de St Antoine'', 1633 File:Charles I of England.jpg, Van Dyck's '' Le Roi à la chasse'', c.1635 File:Carlos V en Mühlberg, by Titian, from Prado in Google Earth.jpg, Titian's ''

Equestrian Portrait of Charles V ''Equestrian Portrait of Charles V'' (also ''Emperor Charles V on Horseback'' or ''Charles V at Mühlberg'') is an oil-on-canvas painting by the Italian Renaissance artist Titian. Created between April and September 1548 while Titian was at the i ...

'', 1548 File:Anthony Van Dick - Ritratto equestre dell'imperatore Carlo V - Google Art Project.jpg, Van Dyck's ''Equestrian Portrait of Charles V'', ca. 1620 File:Duerer - Ritter, Tod und Teufel (Der Reuther).jpg, Dürer's ''

'', 1513

Notes

References

''Equestrian Portrait of Charles I''
National Gallery
''Charles I: The Personal Monarch''
Charles Carlton; Routledge, 1984; , p. 148
''The Tudor and Stuart Monarchy: Vol.III – Jacobean and Caroline''
Roy C. Strong; Boydell & Brewer, 1998; , pp. 159–200
''Charles I with M. de St Antoine'' 1633
Royal Collection

''The Telegraph''
Anthony van Dyck, ''Equestrian Portrait of Charles I''
ColourLex
Alena Buis, "Anthony van Dyck’s Equestrian Portraits of Charles I"
''The Concordia Undergraduate Journal of Art History'', Vol 1, no date.

External links

* Discussion by

Janina Ramirez Janina Sara Maria Ramirez (; ' Maleczek; born 7 July 1980), sometimes credited as Nina Ramirez, is a British art historian, cultural historian, and TV presenter. She specialises in interpreting symbols and examining works of art within their hi ...

and Bendor Grosvenor
Art Detective Podcast, 31 Mar 2017
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Charles I of England in art 1638 paintings

Collections of the National Gallery, London