Spanish Warhorse
Oil on canvas, by Jacob de Gheyn II, 1603
Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam

This Spanish stallion belonged to the Spanish military commander Archduke Albert of Austria in 1600. During the Battle of Nieuwpoort the horse was seized by Lodewijk Gunther van Nassau and subsequently presented to Prince Maurice. Three years later Maurice had the horse grandly portrayed as a war trophy and a sign of triumph. At some point the painting lost this meaning and was folded up; the resulting damage is still visible. In the painting, the horse is led by a groomsman and is almost life-sized.