Le comte d'Etchegoyen

This striking painting captures a military figure mounted on a magnificent white horse, set against a windswept coastal landscape. The rider wears what appears to be a French military uniform with a distinctive blue cap, sitting confidently astride his horse with brown leather tack gleaming in the light. Alfred Munnings, one of Britain's most celebrated equestrian painters, had a natural gift for capturing both the nobility of horses and the character of their riders.

Munnings painted this work during or shortly after World War I, when he served as a war artist in France. His loose, energetic brushwork brings life to the scene, with broad strokes suggesting movement in the landscape and careful attention paid to the muscular form of the horse. The count sits with an easy authority, and you can almost feel the sea breeze coming off the water visible in the background. Munnings had a complicated reputation, known for his traditional approach to painting at a time when modern art was taking over, but his ability to capture horses in motion and light remains undeniable.