A Grey Horse

The subject of this energetic sketch appears barely contained within the small fragment of paper. The paint is applied with confident strokes, imbuing the horse with energy and power. The artist has paid close attention to the animal's anatomy. With one hoof hovering above the ground, this is a dynamic pose – as if the horse is about to rear up, its muscles rippling. The tumbling mane frames a delicate face, with loose waves of paint adding a touch of elegance. An empty saddle suggests a rider who, when paired with his steed, will complete a commanding portrait once painted on a grand scale. 

Throughout his career, the Dutch artist Anthony van Dyck (1599-1641) made several works involving horses, inspired by the examples of the Italian artist Titian (c.1487/90-1576), the Flemish artist Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640) and antique sculpture – among other sources. This particular sketch has come to be associated with Van Dyck, though historic damage and its poor condition makes it difficult to analyse. It was perhaps made as a study in preparation for a larger painting. Van Dyck was intrigued by this type of pale horse with a long curly mane, which features in other sketches, drawings and paintings – most notably in the Equestrian Portrait of Charles V Hapsburg (c.1621), today in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, Italy. A Grey Horse has been pasted onto a wooden panel which bears a later sketch of an elderly man on the reverse, perhaps by the artist Francis Bourgeois (1753-1811), one of Dulwich Picture Gallery’s founders.