Three Charging Horsemen — Jacob de Gheyn II (1565–1629)

Burin. Interlaced DG monogram, followed by in. and ex. Numbered “18”. First state circa 1590–1600
This print, numbered “18”, concludes the series of eighteen Horsemen engraved by Jacob de Gheyn II at the end of the 16th century. The ensemble belongs to the period in which the artist assimilated Italian models while developing a highly personal graphic language, nourished by the Mannerist heritage and the precision characteristic of Netherlandish workshops. The scene shows three armoured horsemen engaged in a vigorous charge. The accentuated movement of the horses, the torsions of the figures, and the refinement of the armour testify to de Gheyn’s attention to equestrian compositions disseminated by Stradanus or Tempesta, but also to his ability to propose a more analytical and structured interpretation of them. The burin work, of great finesse, highlights the play of light on the metal and the dramatic tension of the scene.

The DG monogram accompanied by the mention in. and ex. indicates that de Gheyn is both the author of the composition and its engraver. The absence of a publisher’s address, the clarity of the line, and the freshness of the impression allow this proof to be placed in the first state, before impressions bearing editorial additions or retouching.

The Horsemen series occupies an important place in the evolution of the artist: it announces his later military series and the illustrations of the Wapenhandelinghe, while demonstrating the graphic ambition of an engraver who, from the 1590s onward, established himself as one of the major figures of Northern Mannerism. A complete example of his 22 plates, including the 18 Horsemen, was sold for €46,000 in Holland.

The print is presented with a green wash mount and under anti-reflective, anti-UV glass. It is set in a Bérain moulding from the Louis XIV period.
Dimensions: 15.5 × 20.5 cm the sheet – 36 × 40 cm with the frame

Biography:
Jacques de Gheyn II (Antwerp, 1565 – The Hague, 29 March 1629) was born into a family of engravers and pursued his apprenticeship with the celebrated Goltzius around 1585 in Haarlem. From 1590 onward, he produced his own prints in Amsterdam, then settled in Leiden from 1595 to 1602, where he notably collaborated with the great philosopher and jurist Grotius. In 1605, he moved to The Hague, where he remained until his death, working among others for the House of Orange-Nassau. He then abandoned engraving in favour of oil painting, of which only about twenty works survive today. His son, Jacques de Gheyn III, was also an engraver but most likely painted very few works.