Portrait of Count Stanislas Potocki

David painted Portrait of Count Stanislas Potocki around 1780, during his first stay in Rome, depicting the wealthy Polish aristocrat in an equestrian format that combined the grandeur of the tradition established by Titian and Van Dyck with the emerging Neoclassical interest in antique Roman examples. The equestrian portrait was the most prestigious form of male portraiture, and Potocki's commission from David during his Roman period demonstrates the international reputation the young artist was already building before the great history paintings of the 1780s made him the dominant painter in France. The horse's spirited movement and the landscape background reflect David's study of Italian equestrian painting during his Roman formation.

David composes the rearing horse and rider with dramatic energy, using strong diagonals and a stormy sky to create movement. The virtuosic handling of the horse's anatomy and the rider's elegant costume show David's skill in a genre he rarely attempted.