How did Peter Paul Rubens change the tradition of equestrian portraits in his portrait of the duke of Lerma?

In his 1603 portrait of the duke of Lerma, Peter Paul Rubens transformed the traditional equestrian portrait by taking the Venetian style of Titian and Tintoretto a significant step forward.

Rather than relying solely on established conventions, Rubens infused the work with a heightened sense of physical power and psychological confrontation, setting a new standard for the genre. This approach marked his first major equestrian portrait and demonstrated his ability to evolve Renaissance traditions into the dynamic, expressive language of the Baroque style.1