(photo credit: Royal Collection Trust/© Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II 2017)
Painted for Charles I in 1633, The Royal Collection website cites this beautiful painting as:
"With great fluency Van Dyck here portrays Charles I on horseback on an unprecedented scale, as ruler, warrior and knight, in the long tradition of antique and Renaissance equestrian monuments. The prominent display of the crowned royal arms and the triumphal arch framing the armed King reinforce his image as ruler of Great Britain, while the King's refined features, loose hair and the sash of the Order of the Garter worn over his armour convey the impression of a chivalrous knight. Van Dyck may have designed the painting for its first position at the end of the Gallery at St James's Palace, where its theatrical effect impressed visitors."
It is a beautiful painting and one of the only ones in which I believe a ruler of England is upstaged by a horse. I don't mean that disrespectfully, only that the painting and depiction of the horse is the most magnificent thing in this painting and I like the fact the horse is white, conjuring images of the fairytale knight who rides in on his trusty steed to rescue the damsel in distress - perhaps Van Dyck is stating that Charles I is the king who can rescue England from evil and corruption . . . clearly not a premonition given the sad fate of Charles I.
I have been drawn to this painting since 2009 when I was an intern at Lamport Hall - there they have a copy of this painting labelled as 'after Van Dyck' and thought to be completed by one of his pupils. The Lamport Version has a complete shield and is thought to be the only copy with a shield painted in it's entirety.
Now I have a bit of trivia for you to see how observant you are when you watch tv . . . can any of you think of a tv programme where this painting was featured? . . . I'll give you a clue, it was a drama series which aired for several seasons on ITV . . .
Downton Abbey!
Filmed at Highclere Castle in Berkshire, the dining room has a copy of the Van Dyck painting hanging on the wall adjacent to the door. You're most likely to be able to see the painting in scenes where the family are having breakfast in the dining room as Lord Grantham sits at the head of the table with his back to the painting - that camera angle combined with the daytime lighting gives you a good view of the painting.
(photo credit: meganbrookehandmadeblog)
(photo credit: lillies-flowers.blogspot.fr)
I hope you like this shorter, art focused blog. I will be combining art and the country house in more blogs of this shorter style in and around my longer, information based posts.
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