Probably by Abraham van Calraet, A Boy holding a Grey Horse
Full title | A Boy holding a Grey Horse |
---|---|
Artist | Probably by Abraham van Calraet |
Artist dates | 1642 - 1722 |
Date made | probably 1670-1722 |
Medium and support | Oil on oak |
Dimensions | 36.2 × 32.4 cm |
Acquisition credit | Salting Bequest, 1910 |
Inventory number | NG2548 |
Location | Not on display |
Collection | Main Collection |
Previous owners |
This handsome horse, which would have been an impressive status symbol in seventeenth-century Holland, is presented in a dramatic light. It dwarfs the stable boy. Its forequarters stand out brightly against the dark hillside while its rump is contrasted against the luminous sky; there are no other bright colours to distract our eye. As we can see in the background, it’s also turning the heads of two passers-by – or perhaps they are the owners.
The same horse appears in several other paintings. There are several other versions of this one, including one in the Wallace Collection; another also thought to be by Abraham Pietersz. van Calraet; and one by the much more famous artist Aelbert Cuyp, who like van Calraet worked in Dordrecht. Both this and the Wallace Collection version bear a false Cuyp signature, presumably added later to increase its value.
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More paintings by Abraham van Calraet
![Scene on the Ice outside Dordrecht](/media/33833/n-3024-00-000010-hd.jpg?rxy=0.40917431192660553,0.67961165048543692&width=576&height=576&v=1d6544190d4a230&bgcolor=fff)
![The Interior of a Stable](/media/33452/n-1851-00-000011-hd.jpg?cc=0.062876157407407415,0,0.24701967592592583,0&width=576&height=576&v=1d6543db4dd0450&bgcolor=fff)