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Home > Catholic Encyclopedia > D > Antoon (Anthonis) Van Dyck


ANTOON (ANTHONIS) VAN DYCK

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Usually known as SIR ANTHONY VAN DYCK.

Flemish portrait-painter, b. at Antwerp, 22 March, 1599; d. in London, 9
December, 1641. This great painter was the seventh child of a family of twelve,
being the son of Frans Van Dyck, merchant in silk, linen, and kindred materials,
and of Maria, daughter of Dirk Cuypers and Catherina Conincx. While still a boy
he was placed, on the advice of Jan Brueghel, as a pupil in the studio of
Hendrick Van Balen, who had been a pupil of Rubens. The young artist's
development as a painter was rapid, for it is recorded that at the age of
fourteen he painted a portrait of an old man, and a lawsuit in 1660 revealed the
fact that he had also produced when quite a youth a series of heads exceedingly
well painted. A proof of his skill is the fact that in 1618, before he was
twenty, he was admitted to the freedom of the guild of St. Luke in Antwerp, an
unusual distinction for a youthful painter. The tradition that Van Dyck was
apprenticed to Rubens or was ever his pupil must be dismissed. Investigations
have proved that he was regarded as a master in his art when he was introduced
to the studio of Rubens. Here Van Dyck made one of the group of young men who
assisted the master in his decorative works, which it would have been quite
impossible for him to complete by himself.



In 1620, at the request of the Countess of Arundel, Van Dyck appears to have
come to England and to have received commissions from James I for which he was
paid in February, 1621. After executing these orders he returned to Antwerp and
then determined to visit Italy, leaving in October, 1621, and remaining abroad
for five years. He spent some time at Genoa, moved on to Rome, and then visited
Florence; from here he went to Bologna, and later by way of Mantua to Venice.
After this he was at Milan and finally in 1623 in Rome. The records of this
journey remain in the famous "Chatsworth Sketch Book". His life in Rome was
unsatisfactory, for he made many enemies, and soon left the Eternal City and
settled in Genoa, where he was exceedingly popular. His portraits of the great
nobility of Genoa rank among the finest in the world and form a magnificent and
unrivalled series. In 1624 he visited Palermo, painting the portrait of Emmanuel
of Savoy, Viceroy of Sicily, and some church pictures, but returned to Genoa and
in 1626 left for Antwerp, probably on account of some complications with regard
to the division of his father's estate. He visited Aachen and is believed to
have gone on to Paris, while tradition states that he made a second visit to
England. However, nothing definite is known of his movements until 1630 when he
was at The Hague, and shortly afterwards back in his native town. Another
tradition, which speaks of the rivalry between Rubens and Van Dyck, has to be
discredited. Mr. Lionel Cust and others have shown that the two painters were
not only on terms of equality with regard to their art, but that a generous and
cordial friendship existed between them.

In 1632 Van Dyck went again to England and was graciously received by Charles I.
He appears to have passed into the king's service immediately, as a warrant was
issued on 21 May, 1632, for the payment of an allowance to him, and a residence
given him in Blackfriars. He had also a summer residence in the palace of
Eltham, was knighted on 5 July, presented with a chain and medal of great value,
and granted a pension of £200 a year to be paid quarterly. From the moment of
his arrival commenced his great success as a portrait painter in England. The
king and queen sat to him frequently, and he was overwhelmed with commissions.
In 1634-5 he received a pressing invitation to visit the court at Brussels and
accepted it, but in 1635 he was back at Antwerp and in the same year returned to
England, taking again his position as portrait-painter to Charles I and to
Henrietta Maria. Of the king he painted no less than thirty-six portraits and
about twenty-five of Queen Henrietta Maria, but perhaps the most beautiful works
executed for the royal family were those in which he depicted the children of
the royal pair. To this period belong the wonderful portraits of members of the
English aristocracy to be found in so many of the great English houses. He
prepared a scheme for decorating the walls of the banqueting-house at Whitehall,
the sketches for which still exist, but the royal exchequer could not afford the
work. In 1640 he decided to return to Antwerp. Rubens had died and Van Dyck was
acknowledged the head of the Flemish School and entertained with great
magnificence. He was disposed to settle permanently at Antwerp, but first went
to Paris, desiring to obtain the commission to decorate the gallery of the
Louvre. The work was, however, given to French artists and Van Dyck returned to
London for a while, later on in the year, however, visiting Antwerp and Paris,
and then coming back to London. When he arrived his health was in a critical
condition, and despite the attention of the royal physician he died at his house
in Blackfriars eight days after his wife had given birth to a daughter. He was
buried in St. Paul's Cathedral, and a monument was erected to his memory by
order of the king, but the grave and monument perished with the cathedral in the
great fire of 1666.

In portraiture Van Dyck is the greatest artist of Europe after Titian, and in
works of decorative splendour perhaps only rivalled by Rubens. He was a man of
luxurious and somewhat indolent habits, ambitious, proud, sensitive, and quick
to take offence. In his portraits the elegance of the composition, the delicate
expression of the heads, the truth and purity of his colouring, and the strong
lifelike quality of expression give him the very highest position, and he is one
of the few painters whom all critics have placed in the front rank. In a
consideration of his art the brilliant and vigorous etchings must not be
overlooked.




SOURCES

CUST, Anthony Van Dyck (London, 1900); IDEM, The Chatsworth Sketch-Book (London,
1902); IDEM, Van Dyck (London, 1903); DUPLESSIS, Eaux-fortes de Van Dyck (Paris,
1874); MICHIELS, Van Dyck et ses élèves (Paris, 1881); GUIFFREY, Antoine Van
Dyck (Paris, 1882); LEMCKE, Anton Van Dyck (Leipzig, 1875); MUTHER, Modern
Painting (London, 1905); MÜNTZ, Histoire de la peinture (Paris, 1881).


ABOUT THIS PAGE

APA citation. Williamson, G. (1909). Antoon (Anthonis) Van Dyck. In The Catholic
Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/05220b.htm

MLA citation. Williamson, George. "Antoon (Anthonis) Van Dyck." The Catholic
Encyclopedia. Vol. 5. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1909.
<http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/05220b.htm>.

Transcription. This article was transcribed for New Advent by Richard Hemphill.

Ecclesiastical approbation. Nihil Obstat. May 1, 1909. Remy Lafort, Censor.
Imprimatur. +John M. Farley, Archbishop of New York.

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