Charles I At the Hunt

Artistic improvements and commentary courtesy of Wimsey Bloodhound

Charles I At the Hunt (Anthony van Dyck, 1635 Musee du Louvre, Paris). Anthony van Dyck the great Flemish painter became court painter to Charles I and painted forty portraits of him. Now although this is a very imposing painting it is not an official royal portrait. In this painting van Dyck depicts the king with the easy elegance of a gracious gentleman at the hunt. The genius of van Dyck as a portraitist is that in spite of the casual pose of the sovereign, the painter manages to portray him as commanding and regal nonetheless. From his shimmering doublet to his elegant boots and haughty expression, he is clearly the man in charge. But however beautiful, this painting has always seemed to me to be missing something. Shouldn’t the haughty and commanding Charles I be accompanied on the hunt by an equally haughty and commanding Hound? See how much the addition of a Magnificent Hound adds to the meaning and beauty of the painting! Both gaze majestically out at their realm, secure in the knowledge that their every wish is a their subject’s command—such a sense of ease, elegance and entitlement in both man and Hound.  (“Charles I and Wimsey at the Hunt”).