A Sikh lancer on horseback
by Guillaume van Strydonck (Belgian, 1861-1937)
oil on canvas laid down on board, signed lower left and inscribed Amritsar 1.X.94/.... Sikh/....
59 x 49 cm.
Footnotes:
Guillaume van Strydonck was born in Norway but spent most of his life in Belgium, and studied both there and in Paris. In 1883 he became a founding member of the radical group of Belgian artists, Les XX. He was in India between 1891 and 1896, painting landscapes and figures studies of tradespeople and dancers.

Overall, fair-good condition. The canvas is perhaps not the best quality, and has been laid down on panel (an impression at the upper left corner perhaps indicates that it was previously on a stretcher). There are number of patches of crude repainting, the largest 2 cm. long, visible both with the naked eye and under ultraviolet light: a small patch to the left of the extended rear right leg of the horse; immediately behind its tail, at the edge of the painting; three or four patches at lower centre, in the area of shadow beneath the horse, and between the shadow and the bottom of the painting; at the lower right corner, at the bottom edge of the painting; a group of a few patches in the area to the right of the horse's head and neck. There is a rectangular impression at upper centre, in the area of blue sky, which is either a repair to the canvas, or a label on the back.