“Horseman, pass by!”
…or the long legacy of van Dyck’s famous ‘Equestrian Portrait of King Charles I’
This equestrian portrait of King Charles I, painted around 1637 by Anthony van Dyck is larger than life, measuring more than 3.5 metres high and nearly 3 metres across. It was a time when the King reigned without a Parliament, and is one of the many portraits van Dyck made as Court Painter to King Charles I.
The King is in full armour with sword at his side as he grips the reins in his left hand, while his right hand rests confidently on the baton of command. He is being shown in complete control, ready for battle, state appearance, or perhaps some equestrian contest. He was known to be a skilled horseman and tilted at tournaments. He wears a medallion of St George called ‘The Lesser George’ which was the symbol of the Knights of the Garter, an order of high chivalry begun in medieval times, by decree of King Edward III of England.
Anthony van Dyck had trained under Peter Paul Rubens and travelled extensively in Europe before settling in England in 1632 and being appointed as Court Painter. He worked tirelessly and was rewarded with a knighthood and finally interred at St Paul’s Cathedral when he died in 1641. That was the year before the outbreak of the English Civil War that would end the monarch’s reign...
