© V&A Picture Library
Until the appearance of this crouching figure it was not known that Hubert Le Sueur's equestrian statuette of Henri IV, which had been at the Victoria & Albert Museum for forty years, was incomplete.
The acquisition of this statuette was thus of major significance as it completed Le Sueur's important sculpture group and transformed its appearance, rendering it more interesting and meaningful. The crouching warrior physically supports the rearing horse and dramatically completes the composition. Le Sueur was sculptor by appointment to two kings, Henri IV of France, and Charles I of England at whose court he carried out a number of important commissions including the life-size equestrian statue now in Trafalgar Square.
Provenance
Kimbolton Castle; Private collection.