(Haarlem 1619–1668)
The Riding School,
traces of a monogram lower right,
oil on panel, 35.5 x 41.2 cm, framed

Provenance:
Robert Ferguson of Raith (1769–1840);
by descent to Robert Munro Ferguson of Raith and later Novar (1802–1868);
Charles T. D. Crews (1839–1915), London and Billingbear Park, Berkshire;
with Thomas Agnew, London, 1896;
with Charles Sedelmeyer, Paris;
from whom acquired in 1903 by John W. Gates (1855–1911), Chicago;
Private collection, USA;
sale, Christie’s, New York, 14 October 2021, lot 81;
where acquired by the present owner

Exhibited:
Paris, Charles Sedelmeyer, Third Series of 100 Paintings by Old Masters of the Dutch, Flemish, Italian, French and English Schools, 1896, no. 52

Literature:
J. Smith, A Catalogue Raisonné of the Works of the Most Eminent Dutch, Flemish, and French Painters, vol. I, London 1829, p. 307, no. 372;
J. Smith, A Catalogue Raisonné of the Works of the Most Eminent Dutch, Flemish, and French Painters, Supplement, vol. IX, London 1842, p. 196, no. 165;
C. Hofstede de Groot, A Catalogue Raisonné of the Works of the Most Eminent Dutch Painters of the Seventeenth Century, vol. II, London 1909, pp. 268–69, no. 48;
B. Schumacher, Philips Wouwerman (1619–1668): The Horse Painter of the Golden Age, Doornspijk 2006, vol. I, p. 175, no. A15, (with incorrect provenance); vol. II, plate 15

The present panel, showing gaily dressed figures and fine steeds prancing before a dramatic ruin is a refined example of the mature style of the Haarlem master Philips Wouwerman. The work appears to date from the 1650–60s when Wouwerman, having imbibed both the works of the Bamboccianti painters led by Peter van Laer, and the Haarlem’s own realistic landscape tradition. He combined a typically Dutch handling of light and texture, as seen here, with Italianate settings, exemplified by the warm sunlight modelling of the hilltop town in the distance which can be seen through the crumbling antique arch. The bay and grey-coloured horses in the foreground, with their vivid manes, tails and muscled forequarters show Wouwerman at the peak of his powers – the most accomplished equestrian painter of the Dutch Golden Age.

The artist’s ability in rendering textures can be seen in the finely painted expensive crimson leather of the saddle of the grey horse in the foreground, and the scarlet cape lending a repoussoir effect to the figure of the young boy with his back to the viewer closing off the composition to the right. Many well-to-do Dutch male citizens were members of the militia and having the funds to provide their own mounts and arms was a source of civic pride, and led to demand to many depictions men engaged in parades and skill at arms, along with guard room scenes. The buff leather riding coats of the mounted men on the bay-coloured horses to the left and right of the picture imbue the present work with a slightly militaristic air, while the women and children sheltering under the arch to the left could be camp followers.

Born in Haarlem in 1619, Wouwerman never appears to have travelled south of the Alps, despite the present picture’s seemingly Mediterranean setting. He was allegedly apprenticed to Frans Hals, although the great master appears to have had little stylistic impact on the young Wouwerman. In addition to military pieces and landscape pictures, Wouwerman also painted religious works. He was much celebrated within his own lifetime, inspiring many followers, the most prominent of whom was Jan van Huchtenburg.