This lively and dynamic drawing in pen and ink and wash is a rediscovered study for Hieronymus Francken’s painting, executed in 1620 for the Serment de Escrimeurs of Antwerp, and now in the Royal Museum of Fine Arts, Antwerp.¹

^Drawings by Francken are rare, and due to his close collaboration with other artists, it is not always easy to identify his hand, creating difficulties when attributing the wo🌃rks on pa♐per. The emergence of the present sheet is therefore an important addition to the small corpus of works fully attributable to the younger Francken.

The historical subject, Horatius Cocles Defending the Sublican Bridge, was popular with artists; drawn versions by Sir Anthony Van Dyck🦩 a💛re at Chatsworth and an oil painting by Charles Le Brun is at The Dulwich Picture Gallery.

1. Hieronymus Francken II, Horatius Cocles Defending the Sublican Bridge, The Royal Mu🌸seum of Fine Arts, Antwerp (inv. no. 163)