Panel - 22.8 x 43.3 cm - Signed and dated at the bottom in the centre: ROELANDT/ SAVERY. 1605 - SignedXVIIth Paintings
Provenance:
• probably painted for Rudolf II in Prague as part of a series of six portraits of horses that appeared under no. 1334 in the imperial inventory drawn up in Prague in 1621;
• Leonard...
read moreProvenance:
• probably painted for Rudolf II in Prague as part of a series of six portraits of horses that appeared under no. 1334 in the imperial inventory drawn up in Prague in 1621;
• Leonard Koetser, London, 1961;
• Dr. Hans Wetzlar, Amsterdam, as from 1963;
• private collection.
In 1604, Roelandt Savery was called to the Court of Prague to become the painter of Rudolf II of Hapsburg. An erudite man and an art-lover, the Emperor had a particular passion for riding. As Savery’s works show, Rudolf II often commissioned paintings portraying his favourite animal. The sovereign would cover great distances across his empire in order to find the finest breeds and the most valiant stallions, in the hope of returning to Prague with a horse worthy of the court’s praise and wonderment. Visiting the stables and attending training sessions became a rite of passage for anyone who came to stay at the Court of Prague.
Often shown as a pair or combined with other species in a lush landscape, this horse with its burnt chestnut coat features alone in our painting, only accompanied by its groom. This painting is completely unique in the artist’s oeuvre. Elegant and haughty, this big stallion is without a doubt the Emperor’s favourite breed: an Andalusian. Rudolf II would go to Spain, a veritable El Dorado of stallions, in search of the species most beautiful specimens. The Andalusian horse, which is a cross between thoroughbred Arabs and the chargers brought over by the Moorish invaders in the Middle Ages, is characterised by a particular elegance and harmony. The horse also owes its renown to its physical robustness and its prodigious aptitude for dressage.
Accompanied by its trainer in this portrait, the big stallion stands out against a subtle evanescent background, thus emphasising all the beauty of its breed. The vigorous trainer almost seems vulnerable at the sides of the powerful mount. He is clothed in traditional Bohemian dress.
Executed at the beginning of his stay at the Court of Rudolf II, Savery developed a type of equestrian portrait, already known at the Court of the Gonzagues in Mantua in the 16th century. Another astonishing fact is that several years earlier, Jacob de Gheyn painted the portrait of the white stallions offered to Maurice of Nassau after the Battle of Flanders in 1600. Presented in strict profile and held by their trainers, Savery’s stallion bears a strong resemblance to those painted by de Gheyn. In another painting kept at the Courtrai Museum, Savery presents two profiles of horses held by their trainers in a fantasy landscape. An exceptional example of Roelandt Savery’s work, this painting shows Rudolf II’s favourite mount, imposingly majestic, just like it imperial owner.
Literature : Current and forthcoming exhibitions, in The Burlington Magazine, vol. CII, no. 698, May 1961, p. 195, reproduit p. 194;
Voorkeuren, 1985, p. 62, reproduit p. 63;
T. DaCosta Kaufmann, L'École de Prague, Paris 1985, pp. 270-1, no. 19-8, reproduit p. 271;
T. DaCosta Kaufmann, The School of Prague. Painting at the court of Rudolf II, Chicago/London 1988, p. 231, no. 19.8, reproduit p. 230;
K.J. Müllenmeister, Roelant Savery. Die Gemälde mit kritischem Oeuvrekatalog, Freren 1988, p. 257, no. 128 A.
Exhibitions : Laren, 1963, no. 136 (reproduit planche 50);
Laren, 1966, no. 50;
Utrecht, Centraal Museum, Roelant Savery (1576-1639) en zijn omgeving, 1985-6 (non reproduit).
More informations
Courtrai 1576 - Utrecht 1639
Roelandt Savery was probably born in Courtrai in 1576. He seemingly left the southern Netherlands very early on owing to his reformist religious views, just like...
read moreCourtrai 1576 - Utrecht 1639
Roelandt Savery was probably born in Courtrai in 1576. He seemingly left the southern Netherlands very early on owing to his reformist religious views, just like many other Flemings at the end of the 16th century.
His older brother Jacob, with whom he served his apprenticeship, undoubtedly arrived in Haarlem in 1587, just like Hans Bol in the studio which Roelandt very probably entered following his brother Jacob, before settling in Amsterdam in 1591.
Roelandt Savery then spent some time in Paris with Henry IV but he returned to a Flemish environment in Prague in 1604, answering the call of Rudolf II, where he met P. Stevens, B. Spranger, G. Hoefnagel and E. Sadeler, who became his main engraver. After a long stay in the Tyrol from 1606 to 1608, Savery clearly remained in the service of Emperor Mathias after the death of Rudolf II in 1612, as shown by the court registers.
However, in 1613 he obtained permission to return to the Netherlands. He went to Amsterdam, probably to settle the estate of his recently deceased brother; he stayed there intermittently between 1614 and 1619. At this point, he settled in Utrecht where he was admitted into the Guild of Saint Luke for painters. His unanimously acknowledged talent and his prodigiously dynamic personality assured him an international reputation, which earned him favour very early on among numerous courts in Europe.
Essentially a painter of landscapes and animals, and exceptionally genre scenes, Roelandt Savery only devoted himself to portraying still lifes, especially bouquets of flowers, upon his return to Holland. He died in Utrecht on 25th February 1639. His nephew Hans Savery and Willem van Nieulandt were his pupils, as well as Gillis d’Hondecoeter, A. van Everdingen and Isaac Major in 1594.
His fruitful and talented oeuvre, which is present in the most important museums and private European collections, places him beyond the modern and rigorous concepts particular to schools of painting, allowing him to feature among the most important painters of his time.
