Equestrian Portrait of Cornelis (1639–1680) and Michiel Pompe van Meerdervoort (1638–1653) with Their Tutor and Coachman ("Starting for the Hunt")

The work is an oil-on-canvas painting executed circa 1652–53. Cuyp's handling reflects his landscape background: the heads of the figures are rendered somewhat awkwardly, and the background castle was originally placed left of centre before being repainted to the right, indicating a revision. Stylistically it is an early example of a non-noble equestrian portrait, blending portraiture with Cuyp's characteristic landscape sensibility, evident in the distant ruined castle, the river sailboats, and the atmospheric sky.

The sitters wear Hungarian- and Persian-inspired dress: tight dolmans for the boys and tutor, a heavier mente for the coachman, and a turban-like cap on Cornelis.

The painting is held by the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. It entered the museum's collection in 1931 as part of the bequest of Michael Friedsam, who acquired the work at Galerie Georges Petit in Paris in 1922. The source text does not provide a specific inventory or accession number for the piece.

Regarding its exhibition history, the work has been displayed at several institutions in the United States and the Netherlands since its acquisition. Confirmed venues include the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, the Dordrechts Museum, and the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. Prior to its arrival at the Met, the artwork changed hands through various sales in The Hague, Paris, and London between 1806 and 1922.

Cuyp's equestrian portrait occupies a transitional place in Dutch art, bridging the elite tradition of courtly equestrian imagery and the emergent Dutch taste for individualized portraiture among the regenten class. As one of the few portraits in Cuyp's oeuvre, it exemplifies his rare foray into figure painting while retaining his signature landscape handling, with critics noting the figures' stiff articulation as a concession to his focus on luminous, atmospheric scenery. It aligns with broader shifts in the 1650s, when equestrian portraits began appearing for wealthy burghers rather than royalty alone.

Its later market trajectory, from Dutch family possession through successive European sales to the Met's 1931 Friedsam bequest, underscores its growing canonical status, reinforced by loans to major institutions such as the Rijksmuseum and the National Gallery of Art.

Aelbert Cuyp's "Equestrian Portrait of Cornelis and Michiel Pompe van Meerdervoort with Their Tutor and Coachman," also known as "Starting for the Hunt," is an oil painting from around 1652–53. It depicts two young brothers on horseback, accompanied by their tutor and coachman, preparing for an outing. This large-scale work is now part of the collection at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.