''Charles I at the Hunt'' – also known under its French title, ''Le Roi à la chasse'' – is an oil-on-canvas portrait of

Charles I of England Charles I (19 November 1600 – 30 January 1649) was King of England, Scotland, and Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. He was born into the House of Stuart as the second son of King James VI of Scotland, but after ...

Anthony van Dyck Sir Anthony van Dyck (, many variant spellings; 22 March 1599 – 9 December 1641) was a Brabantian Flemish Baroque artist who became the leading court painter in England after success in the Southern Netherlands and Italy. The seventh ...

c. 1635, now in the

Louvre Museum The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is the world's most-visited museum, and an historic landmark in Paris, France. It is the home of some of the best-known works of art, including the ''Mona Lisa'' and the ''Venus de Milo''. A central l ...

, Paris. It depicts Charles in civilian clothing and standing next to a horse as if resting on a hunt, in a manner described by the Louvre as a "subtle compromise between gentlemanly nonchalance and regal assurance". Van Dyck gives his naturalistic style full expression: "Charles is given a totally natural look of instinctive sovereignty, in a deliberately informal setting where he strolls so negligently that that he seems at first glance nature's gentleman rather than England's King".''Painting at Court'',

Michael Levey Sir Michael Vincent Levey, LVO, FBA, FRSL (8 June 1927 – 28 December 2008) was a British art historian and was the director of the National Gallery from 1973 to 1986. Biography Levey was born in Wimbledon, London, and grew up in Leigh-on-S ...

, Weidenfeld & Nicolson, London, 1971, p. 128 The by painting depicts Charles in lighter colours to the left of the painting, standing against the darker ground and the shadowed servants and horse under a tree to the right; his dark hat prevents his face from appearing washed out by the sky. Charles is dismounted, and stands as if surveying his domain and the sea beyond (perhaps the

Solent The Solent ( ) is a strait between the Isle of Wight and Great Britain. It is about long and varies in width between , although the Hurst Spit which projects into the Solent narrows the sea crossing between Hurst Castle and Colwell Bay t ...

with the

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight ( ) is a county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the largest and second-most populous island of England. Referred to as 'The Island' by residents, the Is ...

visible in the distance). His head is turned and his face pinched in a disdainful and somewhat bitter smile. The king was famously sensitive about his height, and the painting compensates by placing the viewer at a low angle point of view, looking up at the king. Latin inscription on a rock in the lower right corner establishes his rights as a king; "Carolus.I.REX Magnae Britanniae" (Charles I, King of Great Britain – a political statement at the time, only 32 years after his father James had united the crowns of Scotland and England, and proclaimed himself King of Great Britain, and nearly 70 years before the Acts of Union legally created the Kingdom of Great Britain). Charles is dressed as an aristocratic gentleman in a wide-brimmed

cavalier hat A cavalier hat is a variety of wide-brimmed hat popular in the seventeenth century. These hats were often made from felt, and usually trimmed with an ostrich plume. They were often cocked up or had one side of the brim pinned to the side of the c ...

, teardrop

earring An earring is a piece of jewelry attached to the ear via a piercing in the earlobe or another external part of the ear (except in the case of clip earrings, which clip onto the lobe). Earrings have been worn by people in different civilizations ...

, shimmering silver

satin A satin weave is a type of fabric weave that produces a characteristically glossy, smooth or lustrous material, typically with a glossy top surface and a dull back. It is one of three fundamental types of textile weaves alongside plain weave ...

doublet, red

breeches Breeches ( ) are an article of clothing covering the body from the waist down, with separate coverings for each leg, usually stopping just below the knee, though in some cases reaching to the ankles. Formerly a standard item of Western men's c ...

, and turned-down leather

boots A boot is a type of footwear. Boot or Boots may also refer to: Businesses * Boot Inn, Chester, Cheshire, England * Boots (company), a high-street pharmacy chain and manufacturer of pharmaceuticals in the United Kingdom * The Boot, Cromer St ...

, apparently resting during a day of hunting. He is girt with a sword, with one hand resting nonchalantly on a walking stick; the other rests on his hip, holding his gloves as a sign of his sovereignty and assurance. The painting also shows a young

page Page most commonly refers to: * Page (paper), one side of a leaf of paper, as in a book Page, PAGE, pages, or paging may also refer to: Roles * Page (assistance occupation), a professional occupation * Page (servant), traditionally a young m ...

and Charles' picture-buying agent and favoured courtier,

Endymion Porter Sir Endymion Porter (1587–1649) was an English diplomat and royalist. Early life He was descended from Sir William Porter, sergeant-at-arms to Henry VII, and son of Edmund Porter, of Aston-sub-Edge in Gloucestershire, by his cousin Angela ...

, who is holding the horse. The horse seemingly bows its head in submission to the king. In his three years as

Principal Painter in Ordinary The title of Principal Painter in Ordinary to the King or Queen of England or, later, Great Britain, was awarded to a number of artists, nearly all mainly portraitists. It was different from the role of Serjeant Painter, and similar to the earlie ...

, Van Dyck had already made two other

equestrian portrait An equestrian portrait is a portrait that shows the subject on horseback. Equestrian portraits suggest a high-status sitter, who in many cases was a monarch or other member of the nobility, and the portraits can also carry a suggestion of chivalry ...

s of Charles in armour: '' Charles I with M. de St Antoine'' depicting Charles accompanied by his riding master, Pierre Antoine Bourdon, Seigneur de St Antoine; and '' Equestrian Portrait of Charles I'' depicting Charles as a heroic philosopher king, contemplatively surveying his domain. Charles paid van Dyck £100 for the painting in 1638 – although the artist originally requested £200 – but it is not mentioned in the inventory of his collections after his execution. It was in France by 1738, and the

Comtesse du Barry Jeanne Bécu, Comtesse du Barry (19 August 1743 – 8 December 1793) was the last ''maîtresse-en-titre'' of King Louis XV of France. She was executed, by guillotine, during the French Revolution due to accounts of treason—particularly be ...

sold the painting to

Louis XVI of France Louis XVI (''Louis-Auguste''; ; 23 August 175421 January 1793) was the last King of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution. He was referred to as ''Citizen Louis Capet'' during the four months just before he was ...

in 1775.

References

Further reading