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The Complete Works of Philippe Smit
by Andreas Narzt and Florence Castellani

Catalogue entry

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Photo: Studio Sebert; © FdDPS
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Classification: Pastel
Theme: figurative
Medium: Pastel
Support: On paper
Year: 1939
PS 469
The Lord on his Horse, Study
c.1939
Pastel on paper, laid down on cardboard
21 11/16 x 16 11/16 in. (55 x 42.5 cm)
Neither signed, nor dated
Collection Madame Leteneur-Pichon
Inventories
Inv. Leteneur, n.d. [1977], n.p., s.n., private archives: no. [28]: p. [3], salon: Smit Philippe - 'Etude pour l'armée céleste' 'Le seigneur sur son cheval'/ Pastel, 55 x 43 [cm].
Provenance
Lotty Urban-Leteneur
Corinne Leteneur (by descent)
Exhibitions
No known exhibitions.
Literature & Primary Sources
No known published references.
Notes

The subject of this pastel is The Rider on a White Horse of Apocalypse of St. John: "Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself. He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God."1
In the inventory "Leteneur" (see above) the work is described as being a study. A sketch of the horseman set against a landscape background (fig. 1) likewise suggests the existence of a more ambitious painted composition. Philippe Smit may ultimately have abandoned this idea in favour of the version [PS 460].

1. Revelation 19.11-13, English Standard Version.

Additional images
FIG. 1 Pencil on paper, 27 x 21cm; 10 5/8 x 8 5/16 in. (private archives, Paris).
FIG. 1
Pencil on paper, 27 x 21cm; 10 5/8 x 8 5/16 in. (private archives, Paris).
Photo: © FdDPS
Record last updated January 30, 2019. Please note that the information on this and all pages is periodically reviewed and subject to change.
Citation: Narzt, Andreas and Castellani, Florence. "The Lord on his Horse, Study, c.1939 (PS 469)." In The Complete Works of Philippe Smit. www.philippesmit.com/catalogue/entry.php?id=469 (accessed on June 20, 2026).