Circle of Sir Anthony van Dyck (Flemish 1599-1641), Charles I on horseback

Circle of Sir Anthony van Dyck (Flemish 1599-1641)Charles I on horsebackOil on canvas139 x 107.5cm (54½ x 42¼ in.)Provenance:Richard Cosway, 20 Stratford Place, Oxford Street, LondonSale, Mr George Stanley 'A Catalogue of the Pictures of Richard Cosway, Esq. R.A.', 17-19 May 1821, lot 105, 150 gns.The collection of Mr EmmersonSale, Phillips, 15-16 June 1832, lot 131 (£64)The collection of The Blackett Family of Matfen HallLiterature: J. Smith, A Catalogue Raisonne of the works of the most eminent Dutch Flemish and French Painters, vol. III, 1831, page 104, no. 366. Matfen inventory, no.8 The Walpole Society, Vol. LXVI, 2004, p.202 The Cosway Inventory of 1820This depiction of King Charles I is one of the most celebrated and well-known images of him. He was a fine horseman and the symbolism of his pose perhaps suggests he was a ruler who can tame a powerful animal and control the passion and disorder in his kingdom (K. Sharpe, Politics and Ideas in Early Stuart England, London, 1989, pp.44-7). It relates to Sir Anthony van Dyck's Charles I on Horseback with M. de St Antoine in The Royal Collection which is dated 1633. It was painted on a monumental scale (142 x 102 in.) and hung at the end of the Gallery at St James's Palace, a position for which it was probably designed. It has been suggested that our picture may have once been of a similar scale and reduced because the outer parts of the composition were unresolved. The scale of the figure of Charles corresponds directly to that in the autograph version and the idea of it being a fragment is further supported by it not being a standard size. A more typical 50 x 40 in. canvas would suggest that it is a later replica. The modelling of the horse and figure is well resolved whereas the plain background may be either an unfinished ground layer waiting to be painted or possibly a layer of blue (spelt) used in the seventeenth century that tended to deteriorate. The reason why the full-size picture was abandoned are not known, but it would have been a very substantial commission with a limited number of houses or institutions able to accommodate a picture on such a scale. The onset of the Civil War in 1642 may well have also been a contributing factor. None-the-less it is a fascinating insight into 17th Century Royal portraiture. The picture was formerly in the collection of Richard Cosway, the leading portrait painter of the Regency period, who in 1785, was appointed Principal Painter to the Princes of Wales. Together will his wife Maria they were very close to the Prince, and he was a frequent visitor at Maria's glittering salons and concerts. Condition Report: The canvas has been lined and is on a later stretcher which is providing good support. Under UV light there are scattered spots and lines of restoration, these are mostly in background areas and to the edges, and some finer work to the figure, including the face. This is all well executed however and not apparent to the naked eye. Condition Report Disclaimer