Friday, March 29, 2024

Good Friday with Rueland Frueauf

 Salvete Omnes,




Good Friday - the day of  torture, via Dolorosa and Crucifixion of Jesus Christ.

For today, a little gallery by father & son from the Holy Roman Empire -  Rueland Frueauf the elder & R.F. the younger


.



.

.

.

and some  early XVI century equestrian themes from Frueauf the younger's piece titled Leopold Altar.



Valete

Wednesday, March 27, 2024

Semana Santa in full swing - with a Crucifixion by Conrad Laib

 Salvete Omnes,



let us pray for peace and end of human suffering around the world as the Easter holiday is upon us.

we, in the Catholic Christianity, are in the Semana Santa - Holy Week/Swiety Tydzien, aleady in the third day of this last day of Lent.
Last year I did a post  about Semena Santa in Spain and Palm-frond like arrangements - you can take a look here.

And  I would like to share this Crucifixion by Conrad Laib (c.1410-1460), active in Salzburg, Holy Germany Empire. 

Apart from the religious subject matter and artistic value, this work contains lots of information about the horses, horse tack and armor and even weapons of the era.



Bridles, spurs, stirrups, bits - a bonanza of material culture .



here clearly a white mule, animal for clergy, with a very sumptuous bridle an saddle  




a do watch again the famous masterpiece - 'The Passion of the Christ' by Mel Gibson (or any other film about the Passion of Christ) 

Valete



Sunday, March 24, 2024

Manchu Horsemanship Competition for the new emperor Shunzhi



Salvete Omnes, 



''Horsemanship Competition for the Shunzhi Emperor'' 



Met Museum has this scroll - hand painted - from the Qing Dynasty period of China.



Painted during reign of the emperor Shunzhi, third of the Qing or the Manchu Jurchen dynasts to rule China, by a court artist Nardubu, circa 1662.
It is very long - Image: 8 in. × 54 ft. 7 in. (20.3 × 1663.7 cm) - and painted with inks & colors/paints on paper.

It represents the horsemanship (dzhigitivka and horse archery) display organized by the emperor's under prince Dorgon (famously successful Manchu commander), in honor of the new emperor on his entry into Beijing (Peking) in October 1644. 
The riders or cavalry men in this competition seem to belong to three, out of eight, Banners of the Qing banner military system. 


















The scroll was kept at the Imperial Palace in the capital, but after the whole Opium Wars and rebellions  tragic period in Qing China history, the scroll was sold to the  Westerners and ended up in the Metropolitan Museum Asia Art Collection.
 
enjoy for what it is worth - 

ps

also on Wiki Commons

Valete

Friday, March 22, 2024

Sir Henry Raeburn - portraits & horses

 Salvete Omnes,



Spring upon the Northern Hemisphere and let us enjoy some Scottish painter of the British imperial era.

Sir Henry Raeburn (1756-1823)  - Sir Henry, active during the British raise to empire but squarely only in Scotland, painted a huge number of portraits and other paintings during  the half of a century long career. 

Biography by Sir Walter Armstrong on Archive.

Or another one by William Raeburn Andrew - also on Archive.













Henry on a grey pony



George Hay, solider of Peninsular War and War of 1812,  equestrian painting in 1823 but finished by another artist


and a beautiful hussar officer uniform - pelisse - this soldier pictured below was names Sir John Douglas , who being an officer the 15th The King's Hussars fought in the Peninsular War 1813-14 and at Waterloo 1815. 


and below please find a portrait of  a young Lieutenant Colonel George Allan of the 16th Hussars/Light Dragoons with a famous British cavalry weapon: the pattern 1796 light cavalry sabre  

another British cavalryman of Madras cavalry with the pattern 1796 sabre 

TGIF - enjoy your weekend 

Valete