‘Scamp’, the Duke of Devonshire’s Racehorse Painting, 18th Century

This bucolic representation of the English countryside, animated by a hunting scene in the foreground, is characteristic of the tradition for sporting pictures that developed in Brit...

This powerful hunting scene is closely associated to the work of Antwerp-born seventeenth century painter and draughtsman Frans Snyders, widely considered the “progenitor of Flemish Baroque still-life and animal painting.” Having grown up surrounded by artists, Snyders was initially apprenticed to Pieter Brueghel the Younger (1564-1637/38), scion of a well-established family of painters. Like many of his contemporaries in Northern Europe, to complete his education he then travelled to Italy, staying mainly in Rome and Milan (1608-09). Once back in Flanders, his profile as a skilled young painter – who had refined his craft by studying the masters of Italian art – came to the attention of Sir Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640), in whose Antwerp studio Snyders entered as an assistant in about 1610, and with whom he would go on to collaborate on a number of important commissions for years to come. In 1611, Snyders further strengthened his ties with the local community of painters by marrying Margaretha de Vos, sister to Cornelis and Paul de Vos, two artists with whom he would also regularly collaborate. Thanks to the lessons learned in Italy and in Rubens’ studio, Snyders soon achieved the ability to create rhythmic and dynamic compositions, infused with vibrant colours and powerful naturalistic effects. Centred on the theme of the still life, his market scenes and representations of richly stocked pantries and larders embodied the buoyant and confident spirit of seventeenth-century Antwerp, a trading port with a wealthy merchant class and aristocracy (Still Life with Dead Game, Fruits, and Vegetables in a Market, 1614, The Art Institute of Chicago; Still-Life with Fowl and Game, 1614, Wallraf-Richartz Museum, Cologne). Flowers from all seasons and dead game are portrayed alongside baskets overflowing with fruit, precious gilt vessels and Chinese Wanli porcelain...

An English 19 th century oil on canvas of horse and jockey painting in carved gilt wood frame. This 19th c English oil on canvas is a 19 th c...

This late 19th century horse portrait has the kind of offhand elegance that makes British sporting art so quietly addictive. The composition is disarmingly simple: a lone bay set aga...