Wolfgang Heimbach (circa 1605 - 1678), Equestrian Portrait

Wolfgang Heimbach
German painter
Ovelgönne circa 1605 – 1678 Westfalen
Equestrian portrait of a gentleman, most probably of Archduke Leopold Wilhelm of Austria
Oil on canvas : 35,9 X 27,3 cm
Unsigned
Frame : 48,5 X 39,7 cm

Wolfgang Heimbach was a unique painter: although he was deaf-mute, he was able to read several languages and developed an international career. He was born in Lower Saxony, studied painting in Holland and worked the major part of his life in Germany and in the Danish capital Copenhagen. He was an original painter, both stylistically and in in the choice of his subjects.

Our portrait most probably represents Archduke Leopold Wilhelm (with that typical Habsburg physical appearance), the Governor of the Spanish Netherlands between 1647 and 1656. Heimbach must have painted this portrait either circa 1640/42 in Vienna or in 1651 in Brussels.

All my paintings stand fully documented on my website : 
https://www.jeanmoust.com/artists/portraits-genre-and-exterior-scenes/heimbach-wolfgang-2017/portrait-of-a-cavalier-on-horseback-archduke-leopold-wilhelm-of-austria3f-1191133