This high relief Flemish sculpture from about 1525 shows three men on horseback carved in dark brown oak. The men, thought to be Roman soldiers, are placed in front of a sharply inclined ground. The three horses are each presented in differing perspectives. The horse in the front center is seen in profile from its left side with head lowered sniffing a frog on the ground in the left lower corner. The thin rein is made of leather. The horse on the right is shown from the rear, its tail falling between its legs. In the background, its face is turning toward the front and can be glimpsed around the body of its rider. The horse on the left is seen from the front, most of its body obscured by the middle horse.The first soldier on the center horse has a full beard and shoulder length hair upon which a bowl-shaped hat with a wide upturned brim sits. He wears a long-sleeved, thigh-length garment, over tights. Behind him a small dog sits on the back of the horse. The second soldier is seen from the back, wearing a helmet and a belted jacket. In his upraised left hand he holds a bugle. The third soldier faces toward the front and raises his right hand. His slightly bulbous hat fits closely to his head. He wears an outer garment with rows of braids and two short tassels hanging from the right end.
Flemish, Antwerp
Three Men on Horseback,
about 1525
Oak
,
58.5 x 53.5 cm (23 1/16 x 21 1/16 in.)
Object details
Accession number
S28e32
Primary Creator
Flemish, Antwerp
Full title
Three Men on Horseback
Creation Date
about 1525
Provenance
Purchased by Isabella Stewart Gardner from the art dealer Julius Böhler, Munich for 200 marks on 17 August 1897, through the Austrian conductor Wilhelm Gericke (1845-1925).
Dimensions
58.5 x 53.5 cm (23 1/16 x 21 1/16 in.)
Display Media
Oak
Web Commentary
Isabella Stewart Gardner kept meticulous records of many of her acquisitions. In keeping with this legacy, object information is continually being reviewed, updated, and enriched in order to give greater access to the collection.
Permanent Gallery Location
Chapel
Bibliography
Anneliese Harding. German Sculpture in New England Museums (Boston, 1972), p. 83. (as lower Rhine or Netherlands, end of the 15th century)
Cornelius C. Vermeule III et al. Sculpture in the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (Boston, 1977), pp. 85-86, no. 113. (as Flemish, Antwerp (?), about 1525)
Rights and reproductions
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Isabella Stewart Gardner kept meticulous records of many of her acquisitions. In keeping with this legacy, object information is continually being reviewed, updated, and enriched in order to give greater access to the collection.