A soldier on a galloping horse (recto); Bust of Saint John of Nepomuk with a flying angel (verso)

This energetic depiction of a soldier on a rearing horse is typical of March’s preparatory drawings. Trained by Pedro Orrente (1580-1645), the artist was a leading Baroque painter in València in the seventeenth century. March’s œuvre was largely inspired by the Bible – with much of his work illustrating Biblical battle scenes, though very few of his drawings survive (see Z. Véliz, Spanish Drawings in The Courtauld Gallery. Complete Catalogue, London, 2011, p. 230). This drawing relates to a figure in his painting Joseph arresting the sun in the Museo de Belles Arts, València (fig. 1; inv. 612).

There are at least two other drawings studying the rearing horse in this composition. A pen and ink drawing at The Uffizi, Florence, titled Equestrian combat between the Turks and Christians (inv. S. 8283; see D. Angulo & A.E. Pérez Sánchez, A Corpus of Spanish Drawings, IV. Valencia 1600 to 1700, London, 1988, no. 130, ill.), and a red chalk drawing at Museo de Belles Arts, València (see D. Angulo & A.E. Pérez Sánchez, op. cit., no. 135, ill.). March was influenced by the works of the Italian Masters. The artist's exposure to artworks by artists such as Antonio Tempesta (1555-1630) can be seen in his output. The present drawing appears to study the primary figure on horseback in Tempesta’s etching Saul kills himself after the defeat of his army by the Philistines (fig. 2; inv. 1974.55.35, National Gallery of Art, Washington).


Fig. 1. Esteban March, Joseph arresting the sun. Museo de Belles Arts, València.
Fig. 2. Antonio Tempesta, Saul kills himself after the defeat of his army by the Philistines. National Gallery of Art, Washington.