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Lot Essay
This is a modello for the engraving by Antony van der Does (1609-1680), published by Martin vanden Enden, inscribed and dated 'Diepenbeke invenit 1634' (on the second impression). The composition is similar to Rubens' equestrian portrait of the Cardinal Infante at the battle of Nördlingen in 1634 (c. 1635-9; Madrid, Prado), and presumably represents the same occasion. The stance and angle of the horse is closer, however, to that of the Equestrian Portrait of George Villiers, Duke of Buckingham (1625-7; formerly Earl of Jersey, Osterley Park; destroyed by fire 1949).
The Osterley picture was Rubens' earliest known use of the levade pose that he established through his studio in the so-called Riding School (c. 1615; formerly Kaiser-Friedrich Museum, Berlin), and which he subsequently employed in the Prado picture and the now lost Equestrian portrait of King Philip IV (1628; formerly Madrid, Alcazar; destroyed by fire 1734). The date on Van der Does' engraving, which predates Rubens' equestrian portrait of Ferdinand, therefore suggests that Van Diepenbeeck based the present picture upon either the portrait of Buckingham or Philip IV.
Rubens was the dominant source of inspiration throughout Van Diepenbeeck's career, indeed, several times he executed work initially conceived by Rubens: in 1627, following Rubens' instructions, he drew the design for the Vitae patrum by Heribertus Rosweyde, and in 1636 he realized Rubens' ideas for a print of Neptune and Minerva. After Rubens' death, his work remained crucially important to Van Diepenbeeck's artistic activity; as early as 1642, he had the engraver Hendrik Snyers print a number of Rubens' compositions that he had copied.
The Battle of Nördlingen, at which the Cardinal Infante commanded the Imperial forces, represented a crushing defeat for the Swedish and German Protestant armies, commanded by Bernhard of Saxe-Weimar, in the Thirty Years' War.
We are very grateful to Professor Hans Vlieghe for the attribution, given on the basis of a photograph, and for noting the picture's relationship with Van der Does' engraving.
The Osterley picture was Rubens' earliest known use of the levade pose that he established through his studio in the so-called Riding School (c. 1615; formerly Kaiser-Friedrich Museum, Berlin), and which he subsequently employed in the Prado picture and the now lost Equestrian portrait of King Philip IV (1628; formerly Madrid, Alcazar; destroyed by fire 1734). The date on Van der Does' engraving, which predates Rubens' equestrian portrait of Ferdinand, therefore suggests that Van Diepenbeeck based the present picture upon either the portrait of Buckingham or Philip IV.
Rubens was the dominant source of inspiration throughout Van Diepenbeeck's career, indeed, several times he executed work initially conceived by Rubens: in 1627, following Rubens' instructions, he drew the design for the Vitae patrum by Heribertus Rosweyde, and in 1636 he realized Rubens' ideas for a print of Neptune and Minerva. After Rubens' death, his work remained crucially important to Van Diepenbeeck's artistic activity; as early as 1642, he had the engraver Hendrik Snyers print a number of Rubens' compositions that he had copied.
The Battle of Nördlingen, at which the Cardinal Infante commanded the Imperial forces, represented a crushing defeat for the Swedish and German Protestant armies, commanded by Bernhard of Saxe-Weimar, in the Thirty Years' War.
We are very grateful to Professor Hans Vlieghe for the attribution, given on the basis of a photograph, and for noting the picture's relationship with Van der Does' engraving.