Horsemen At Rest, Flemish School, 19th Century, In The 17th-century Manner

Horsemen at Rest, Flemish School, 19th Century, in the 17th-Century Manner

Description:
At the threshold of a thatched barn, beneath a cloud-laden sky, a horseman with long fair hair, dressed in an ochre doublet, has halted on his bay horse. With his hat in one hand and a glass in the other, he leans good-humoredly toward a stout companion, who wears a plumed felt hat and a sword at his side. Beside them, a young groom in a blue coat holds the bridle of a saddled dapple-white horse. In the foreground, a few pieces of game left on the ground suggest a return from the hunt.

The composition is framed by a bare tree with twisting branches and by the dark mass of the barn, where a cloth hangs to dry. To the left, it opens onto distant hills bathed in a hazy light. The painter plays on the contrast between the pale coat of the white horse and the warm tones of the foreground, in a palette of ochres, golden browns, and bluish grays.

Our painting takes up a theme dear to the 17th-century Flemish and Dutch painters of horses, of whom Philips Wouwerman was the most celebrated: horsemen at rest, hunting parties, and stable scenes. These subjects, highly prized by 19th-century collectors, inspired many interpretations in the manner of the Golden Age masters.

The panel is presented in a molded, ebonized wood frame of Dutch type, in keeping with the spirit of 17th-century painting.

Technique:
Oil on panel. Flemish School, 19th century, in the 17th-century manner. Molded and ebonized wood frame.

Dimensions:
Without frame: Height 15 3/4 in (40 cm), Width 15 3/4 in (40 cm)
With frame: Height 25 9/16 in (65 cm), Width 25 9/16 in (65 cm)

Condition:
Good overall condition. Wear and small chips to the ebonized frame.