Study for an Equestrian Portrait, Possibly that of Albert de Ligne, Count of Arenberg; verso: Various Studies of Statues and Figures, Including the Venus Pudica and Scipio and his Lictor

Anthony van Dyck

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Van Dyck probably made this drawing as a preparatory study for the lifesize equestrian portrait of Albert de Ligne, prince of Brabançon and Arenberg (Holkham Hall, Norfolk), which he painted about 1628–32. The sitter was commander in chief of the Spanish forces in Bohemia, Westphalia, and the Netherlands. Van Dyck's choice of a rear view adds decorative bravado to the image by integrating the horse's flowing mane and tail with the sitter's elegant sash and dashing feathered hat.

Drawings and Prints

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Department’s vast collection of works on paper comprises approximately 21,000 drawings, 1.2 million prints, and 12,000 illustrated books created in Europe and the Americas from about 1400 to the present day. Since its foundation in 1916, the Department has been committed to collecting a wide range of works on paper, which includes both pieces that are incredibly rare and lauded for their aesthetic appeal, as well as material that is more popular, functional, and ephemeral. The broad scope of the department’s collecting encourages questions of connoisseurship as well as those pertaining to function and context, and demonstrates the vital role that prints, drawings, and illustrated books have played throughout history.

Metropolitan Museum of Art