The young Martin was according to legend a soldier serving in the army of Constantine the Great stationed in the French city of Amiens.

[3] The painting shows the youthful Martin wearing a harness and a fashionable hat sitting on his splendid white horse.

Instead of van Dyck's characteristic loose brushstroke, a smooth and opaque paint treatment was used, creating a very sculptural effect.

[6] In 1621 the Chancellor of Brabant, Ferdinand van Boisschot wanted to donate a painting to the local parish church in Zaventem dedicated to St Martin.

[5] The painting was temporarily moved to the residence of Baron van Boisschot in Brussels during the military campaigns of French king Louis XIV around 1672.

It was, on the orders of the French government, removed from the church and taken in August 1794 to Paris where it was subsequently exhibited in the Musée Central in the Louvre.