The leader of a troop of horsemen lowers his hat to salute Philippe-François, 1st Duke of Arenberg and Duke of Arschot and Croy, who doffs his own feathered hat in response. Arenberg was an important figure at the court of Brussels: he served in the army of the Southern Netherlands, where he distinguished himself at the Siege of Arras in 1654, and was subsequently made captain general of the Flemish fleet in 1660 and governor of Hainault in 1663.
The Duke’s wealth and status is emphasised by his mode of travel: a coach pulled by six matching grey horses, all decorated in gold studs and tassels. His outrider, who is performing an elegantly rearing trick called a levade, is similarly expensively dressed in the Duke’s colours of yellow and red. The presence of weary-looking dogs and their handler suggests that a hunt has just taken place, and that this beautiful and expansive landscape is the Duke’s own estate.
Adam-François van der Meulen was a painter of travel scenes and battles, as well as a tapestry designer and printmaker. He left Brussels for France to work for King Louis XIV in about 1662, not long after this picture was painted.
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