Rudolf von Habsburg Handing over his Horse to a Priest

1650 · Private collection

historical

This unusual subject is taken from the Chronicon Helveticum written by Aegidius Tschudi (1505-72). Whilst out hunting, Graf Rudolf von Habsburg comes across a priest taking the viaticum to the dying, and in a show of piety hands over his horse for the priest to use. The figures kneeling beside the path in the foreground are probably portraits of the patron's family members.

Rudolf von Habsburg Handing over his Horse to a Priest

About the Artist

Jacques d' Arthois

1613 – 1686

Jacques d'Arthois (other spellings: Artoes; Artoies; Artois; Artoos; Artoys), Flemish painter, draughtsman and collector. He was apprenticed to Jan Mertens on 11 January 1625 and became a master in the Brussels painters' guild on 3 May 1634. On 10 July 1636 he married Marie Sampels, who bore him eight children. Besides his son Jan Baptist d'Arthois (b. 1638) and his brother Nicolaes d'Arthois (b. 1617), Jacques had six pupils; one of them, Cornelis van Empel, came from Mechelen, indicating that d'Arthois's fame extended beyond his native city. He was made chartered tapestry cartoon designer of the city of Brussels in 1655. At the time of his death he owned several houses and a substantial paintings collection, though an expansive lifestyle had left him severely in debt.

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