Study of an Andalusian Horse's Head

Max Rooses considered our painting already as a study by Van Dyck for the equestrian portrait of Thomas, prince de Savoie-Carignan, now in the Galleria Sabauda in Turin: In a sales-catalogue of the Antwerp collection Edmond Huybrechts in 1902 (see attachment), Rooses describes our painting as a "Study for the equestrian portrait of the Prince of Savoy" by Van Dyck. Indeed, the horse heads show many affinities and similarities and we should note that the Turin horse head is painted a bit more in profile and the rigging is slightly more detailed (see attachments). These are arguments in favour of the attribution of our work: it is certainly not an exact copy after Van Dyck's final painting in Turin and thus rather an extended study conceived more broadly and sketchily, made for and before a final version.

Also noteworthy is the similarity with some of the horse heads that recur in Rubens' oeuvre, such as in his “Wolf and Fox Hunt” (MET Museum, New York).

Gaspar De Crayer was a master who was strongly influenced by both Rubens and Van Dyck, he enjoyed enormous commercial success after the death of the two great painters because there was a high demand for large compositions. 
It is not unlikely that our work is a preliminary study for De Crayer's ‘Equestrian Portrait of Philip IV of Spain’ (Prado Madrid). Unlike the final painting in the Prado, which is much more finished and affected, our work is a very dynamic and powerful study.
Gaspar de Crayer (1584–1669) was an important Flemish Baroque painter. He was born in Antwerp but spent most of his career in Brussels, where he served as court painter to the governors of the Southern Netherlands. De Crayer mainly painted religious scenes and portraits, using a powerful yet balanced style influenced by Peter Paul Rubens and Anthony van Dyck. His work was highly valued and spread widely across churches and collections in the Low Countries and beyond. Today, he is regarded as one of the leading painters of the Flemish Baroque.

We would like to thank Joos Van Der Auwera for pointing out that our head is by Gaspar De Crayer.

Oil on Canvas, 72 x 52 cm (28 ³/₈ x 20 ¹/₂ inches)
On the back:
label mentioning the sale of the Edmond Huybrechts collection (which took place from 12 to 15 May 1902 in Antwerp and number in black GM5761).
Exposition label: "Van Dyck, Horse")