Van Dyck

Name: Sir Anthony van Dyck

Achievements: Great portrait painter

Born: March 22, 1599; Antwerp, Spanish Netherlands (now Belgium)

Died: December 9, 1641; London, England (Aged 42)

Field & Discipline: Art; Painter

Language: Dutch; English

Father: Frans van Dyck

Mother: Maria Cuypers

Siblings: 11, 9 surviving to adulthood including Theodore; Isabella; Susannah; Anna

Spouse: Mary Ruthven

Children: Justiniana

Education: Unknown

Major Work:

"Portrait of Guido Bentivoglio"

"King Charles on Horseback"

Life & Times:

The earliest dated van Dyck work is a self-portrait from 1613, when he was 14.  It is almost certain that by this time, Van Dyck was an apprentice at the studio of  [apprentice of] Rubens*,  the most influential artist in northern Europe.  [a pal of] Jan Brueghel the Elder*  and  Rubens were friends, and Bruegel's son, [a pal of] Jan Breughel the Younger* and van Dyck were friends.  

In 1620, van Dyck accepted an invitation to go to London.  The invitation had been extended by the British Earl of Arundel's Italian secretary, who was in Antwerp escorting the Earl's wife, who was having her portrait painted by Rubens. 

In London, everything went well at first.  Van Dyck got a stipend and painting commissions at the English court from King James, and was able to study the paintings which collectors in England, such as  the  Earl of Arundel and the Prince of Wales (later [work collected by] King Charles I *) were starting to collect.   But then things began to go wrong. 

Playwright [satirized by] Jonson* made jokes about van Dyck, the Puritans at court did not approve of  portrait painting and he considered the court vulgar and licentious. In 1621, Van Dyck got the King's permission to travel for eight months, but he did not return for 11 years. He left for Antwerp and then Italy, leaving unfinished a portrait of the King,  designs for a Twelfth Night masque, and another design for a tapestry.

A group of northern artists congregated in Genoa, including his friend Jan Bruegel the  Younger, who arrived in 1622.  For several  years, van Dyck made Genoa his winter base and visited Rome, Florence and Venice during the rest of the year.

In Venice, van Dyck sought out the works of Titian, Giorgione, Veronese and  Tintoretto, and painted two portraits of Lucas van Uffel, a Dutch arms dealer, ship owner and art collector. He also became re-acquainted with the Countess of Arundel, and travelled with her to Mantua, Turin and Milan. 

In Mantua, he painted a portrait of the Duke of Mantua and reveled in the Duke's fantastic collection of art, (several Rubens among them), many of which King Charles would later buy.  In Turin, he painted members of the House of Savoy. 

In Rome in 1623 he painted many leading Romans, notably Maffeo Barberini, who later became Pope Urban VIII, and aristocrat Guido Bentivoglio,  now considered one of van Dyck's best.  

In Palermo with Jan Bruegel the Younger, van Dyck began to paint the huge "Madonna of the Rosary" as an altarpiece when plague struck.  He fled to Genoa, where he spent 17 days in quarantine but completed the painting and sent it back to Palermo. 

In Genoa he continued to  paint portraits, "The Lomellini Family" being an  acknowledged masterpiece.

In 1627, van Dyck returned to Antwerp to sort out family finances and in 1628,  joined the influential Jesuit Confraternity of Bachelors, doing many religious paintings.  Van Dyck, Rubens and fellow-painter Jacob Jordaens, were commissioned to paint an altarpiece for the Augustinian church in Antwerp. 

When Rubens left Antwerp on diplomatic matters, van Dyck became  court painter in his stead.  In the winter of 1631-32, at 32,  he spent some weeks at the court of The Hague, where he painted a portrait of the 13-year-old [painted] Prince Rupert* of the Rhine. In 1632, van Dyck finally accepted an invitation to return to England. 

The King asked the architect [knew] Inigo Jones* to find lodgings for him in Whitehall Palace.  He was knighted the same year.  His first double portrait of Charles and Queen Henrietta confirmed Van  Dyck as the most skilled artist at court.  Except for 1634, which he spent in Antwerp, van Dyck remained in England for eight years and painted the King and Queen many times. 

One of his most famous portraits shows the King on a horse.  Another, a three-profile portrait of the King, was used as a study for a bust made by Italian sculptor/architect [work adapted by] Bernini*. 

In 1639, he married Mary Ruthven, a lady-in-waiting to the Queen, whom he took to the continent in 1640 after an outbreak of the plague.  Rubens having died, van Dyck expected to find more work on the continent.  But after a short time in Paris he returned to London.  His daughter was born on December 1, 1641, and on December 9, van  Dyck died. 

Extra Connections: He was influenced  by [influenced by] Titian*

He influenced [influenced] Gainsborough* and [influenced] Sir T Lawrence*

Goya*?

Assessment: Van Dyck had the remarkable knack of gaining the confidence of his subjects, mainly rulers and aristocrats, which allowed a true portrait to emerge from the most formal and sumptuous settings

Oneliner: Van Dyck, 17^th-century portrait-painter

Bibliography:

• Blake, Robin,  Anthony van Dyck, A Life 1599-1641, Constable, London, 1999.