In 1618, Peter Paul Rubens created Three riders in different positions as part of his studies into the anatomy and movement of horses—an obsession that ran through his career. What makes this work especially intriguing is that Rubens did not paint it as a finished commission, but as a teaching tool for his busy Antwerp studio, where young artists and assistants would learn by copying his dynamic compositions. This sheet, with its trio of mounted figures, became a reference point for later battle scenes and equestrian portraits, both by Rubens and his followers. The moment Rubens captures is not a grand battle or a royal procession, but the horses themselves in motion, each rider demonstrating a different posture and control.

One horse rears, its rider leaning back to steady it; another gallops forward, while the third turns in profile, the rider’s arm extended as if giving a command. The careful rendering of muscle and tack, the tension in the reins, and the alert expressions of both horses and men all speak to Rubens’s close study of equine form. Unlike the more static horses of Albrecht Dürer or the stylized steeds in Leonardo da Vinci’s sketches, Rubens’s animals seem to breathe and move, their energy barely contained by the page. The exact medium of Three riders in different positions is not recorded, but it likely combines chalk, ink, or oil on paper—materials Rubens favored for his preparatory works.

While the sheet was never intended for public display, it survived in the artist’s workshop and later entered private collections, valued as a glimpse into Rubens’s creative process. Today, it stands as evidence of his lifelong fascination with movement and anatomy, and as a testament to the collaborative, instructional environment of the Baroque studio. Its influence can be traced in the equestrian scenes that filled European palaces for generations.