Saturday, November 12, 2016

Equestrian Figures

Gianlorenzo Bernini
Vision of Constantine
1670
marble
Scala Regia, St Peter's Basilica, Rome

The drapery behind the figure of the Emperor Constantine (above) reflects "the drama of what is about to happen; the folds form powerful downward diagonals from left to right, parallel to the diagonals of the rider's body and the horse's front legs. But although the drapery thus emphasizes the dynamic element in the tableau, it also represents something of a necessary compromise."  The statue had been conceived for a much smaller niche inside the church, on the spot where Queen Christina's tomb would eventually be built. Without the drapery, Constantine and his horse would have appeared too small in their new location at the bottom of the Scala Regia. "We know that Bernini was busy on it during 1662, and about that time both Queen Christina and the Pope visited the artist in his studio and saw it there. It was probably not finished until 1668, however, and it was not unveiled until 1670." 

 from Rome in the Age of Bernini by Torgil Magnuson, English translation by Nancy Adler (Stockholm : Almqvist & Wiksell International, 1986)

Willem Danielsz van Tetrode
Warrior
1562-65
bronze statuette
Getty Museum, Los Angeles

Relief of a Horseman
1st century BC
Hellenistic marble
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

Andrea del Verrocchio
Equestrian statue of Bartolomeo Colleone
1481-95
bronze
Campo di Santi Giovanni e Paolo, Venice

Horace Vernet
Portait of the Duc de Chartres on horseback
1832
oil on canvas
private collection

Raphael
Study of a sculpture of a horse
ca. 1516
drawing
Chatsworth House, Derbyshire

Théodore Géricault
Horse race
1816-17
oil on paper
Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid

Edmé Bouchardon
Study for an equestrian statue of Louis XV
1750s
drawing
Louvre

Giambattista Tiepolo
Rider & Horse
early 18th century
drawing
Victoria & Albert Museum

Luca Cambiaso
Soldier on horseback
16th century
drawing
Morgan Library, New York

George Stubbs
Equestrian portrait of Sir Sydney Medowes
1778
oil on panel
Royal Collection, Windsor

Peter Paul Rubens
St George and the Dragon
17th century
wash drawing
Louvre

Diego Velázquez
Philip IV on Horseback
1634-35
oil on canvas
Prado

Sir Edwin Landseer
Sketch for Queen Victoria on Horseback
ca. 1837-39
oil on panel
Royal Collection, Windsor