Anthony van Dyck’s ‘Andalusian Horse’ – his first large-scale depiction of a solitary horse – features the artist’s only surviving oil landscape on its reverse. It was discovered during its restoration, after the painting was sold in 2000. This “two-sided” work is one of the attractions of the auction of old masters at Christie’s, which will be held on December 3 during London Classics Week . It has an estimated value of between £2 and £3 million. Clementine Sinclair, Head of London Old Master Paintings at Christie’s, said: “We are delighted that this powerful work by one of the greatest artists of the Northern Baroque returns to Christie’s for sale after more than 20 years, with the added meaning and emotion that Van Dyck’s only surviving oil landscape has been revealed on the back of the original canvas. Related News report If Rubens opens workshop in the Prado Natividad Pulido The museum stages it in a room next to the Central Gallery the master’s studio in Antwerp and shows how it worked, but also reveals the process and technique of his painting. An exhibition to enjoy and learn, which invites you to look closely. An Andalusian horse was painted by Van Dyck shortly before he left Antwerp for Italy in the autumn of 1621. It was executed in preparation for the artist’s equestrian portrait of Emperor Charles V. around 1621, today in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence. This striking representation of a stallion offers a thrilling demonstration of the young Van Dyck’s virtuoso handling of paint and masterful technique. A powerful image of equine power, the painting is a masterful display of the economy of paint: Van Dyck used a gray primer and employed quick strokes of dark brown paint to articulate the outline before liberally applying lead white highlights to capture modeling and the head of the horse. This expressive use of paint is typical of the artist’s work during his formative years in Antwerp, when his works are characterized by a richness and variety of textures that contrast markedly with the sober, courtly style of his later years in England. Van Dyck’s love of horses and his delight in painting them is evident in the artist’s work during his early years in Antwerp. In the biography of the artist written by André Félibien in 1685 he tells how Rubens gave Van Dyck one of the most beautiful horses in his stable before his most talented assistant left for Italy. Obverse Reverse On the obverse, ‘Andalusian horse’, by Van Dyck (recto). On the reverse, a Christie’s Van Dyck landscape, on the reverse of the canvas, shows a steep tree-covered bank on the left, descending to a lake where a dog can be seen drinking. While Van Dyck is known to have painted landscapes (five of them are cataloged in the Antwerp collections in the 17th century), this is the only surviving oil painting of this genre from his entire career. Scholars have linked it to the background of his portrait of a father and son, possibly Joannes Woverius with his son, around 1620, which is in the Louvre. The artist’s delight in studying nature is evident in the numerous portraits and thematic paintings with landscape backgrounds or settings, but it is possibly in the group of surviving drawings that his reverence for the natural world is expressed most eloquently.The artist and revered Collector Thomas Gambier Parry acquired ‘An Andalusian Horse’ in 1859, before Sir Charles Eastlake had time to obtain it for the National Gallery. Parry assembled a notable collection of Italian Renaissance paintings for Highnam Court, near Gloucester, which included important works by Bernardo Daddi, Lorenzo Monaco, Fra Angelico, Pesellino and Mariotto Albertinelli. His collection survives virtually intact at the Courtauld Institute. The Van Dyck was, as demonstrated, the most outstanding northern painting in the collection.
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