Anthony van Dyck

Antoon van Dyck (Antwerp, March 22, 1599 - London, December 9, 1641) was a Flemish Baroque artist, leading painter in England, mainly a portraitist, who became the first court painter in England after a long stay in Italy. He is universally known for portraits of the Genoese nobility And Charles The King of England, his family members and his court With his method of relaxed elegance painting, he influenced the British portraitists, like Peter Lely, for the following years In addition to the portraits, for which he was very much Appreciated, he also dealt with biblical and mythical subjects, introducing some remarkable pictorial innovations.He painted with a relaxed elegance that was to be the dominant influence on English portrait-painting for the next 150 years. He also painted biblical and mythological subjects, displayed outstanding facility as a draughtsman, and was an important innovator in watercolour and etching.

He was a pupil and friend of the painter Pieter Paul Rubens, who assimilated the technique and, in part, the style

After spending his youth in Antwerp, he moved to Italy, where he completed the ritual journey of formation, characteristic of all the great Flemish painters. Here he had the opportunity to see and copy some of the great Renaissance works, especially of his favorite painter, Titian Di Back from Italy, he went to England at the court of Charles I Stuart, where he practiced almost exclusively portraits

Van Dyck was born in Antwerp on March 22, 1599 in a house called "Den Berendans" in the city center. Grandfather Antoon (1529-1581), after being a painter, had opened up a silk merchant business; To his death, his wife, Cornelia Pruystinck, continued her husband's affair with her sons Francesco and Ferdinando. The activity did a lot, as the family had clients even in Paris and London, as well as in most of the Flemish cities

Antoon's father, Franchois, married in second marriage in 1590, Maria Cuypers Since marrying with this woman, she had twelve children, Antoon was the seventh. With the widow of the family, Van Dyck decided to buy a new home, Spacious and luxuriously furnished, "De Stadt van Ghendt", including an Antoon bathroom, which was soon gifted with talent and was sent in 1609 at the shop of one of the best painters in the city, Hendrick van Balen, dean of the San Guild Luca, to learn the rudiments of painting and experience The first Van Dyck's painted painting is just these years and it is the Portrait of a Seventy-Sixteen Man of 1613, where Van Balen's recent teachings are apparent But soon he opened a shop Personal, along with his young friend Jan Brueghel the Younger, with whom he began abandoning the master's school. In recent years, as Jan Brueghel was handed over, Antoon was commissioned to perform one Rhymes of paintings depicting the twelve apostles and a Silenus bleak Of this period is undoubtedly also the self-portrait of 1613-14

From 1617, Van Dyck worked closely with Pieter Paul Rubens of which he became a student, abandoning his own standby shop. After months of great collaboration between the two, Rubens spoke of Van Dyck as his best student. Even after 11 February 1618, on the day he was admitted to the Guild of Saint Luke as a master, Van Dyck worked with Rubens to make canvases such as Decio Mure dismisses the littors or Achilles among the daughters of Licomede In the workshop of Rubens, now affirmed painter throughout Europe, Van Dyck made his name known in the aristocracy and rich bourgeoisie and came into contact with classical culture and court label The young Antoon learned to imitate the models of the master, adopting many features, as it is easy to see in Painted The Emperor Theodosius and Saint Ambrose In 1620 Rubens signed a contract with the Jesuits of Antwerp for the decoration of their church, based on Rubens' drawings, But performed by Van Dyck; In addition to this important assignment, Antoon also received numerous private inquiries for portraying portrays These paintings are depicted as the Portrait of Cornelius van der Geest or Maria van de Wouwer-Clarisse

In October 1620, when he was twenty-one, Van Dyck moved to London at the court of the King of England James IA convincing him to move to England were the insistence of Duke of Buckingham and Thomas Howard, Arundel, the latter great art-loving friend, Rubens's friend and protector of Inigo Jones During his stay in London, he obtained from Giacomo I an annual one hundred pound pension; But soon Arundel's Count granted him a travel permit abroad for eight months: he would not be back for eleven years. Van Dyck's works during his first English stay are deeply different from those made until then in Antwerp Flanders , Who had just returned to Catholicism, Antoon had the opportunity to perform only religious paintings or portraits. In London, however, he enjoyed greater freedom both in the paintings and in the choice of the theme to be represented. In the picture Sir George Villiers, future Duke Of Buckingham and his wife Lady Katherine, such as Venus and Adone, for example, Van Dyck represents new brides like he had never done: the canvas has allegorical character, with a typical pastoral taste inspired by Titian, and the two subjects are represented Natural size Other known paintings of the period are The continence of Scipione and a portrait of the Count of Arundel

Back in Antwerp, he stayed there for about eight months; In this time in which Rubens was far away, he painted some of his brilliant and innovative portraits, such as Portrait of Isabella Brant, Rubens's first wife, and Portrait of Frans Snyders and his wife Margareta de Vos When he communicated His decision to leave for Italy, Rubens gave him a horse for the trip and numerous letters of presentation to painters and buyers

In 1621 he decided to leave for Italy, a traditional journey of the Flemish painters, where he remained for six years, studying and analyzing the works of the great artists of the fifteenth and sixteenth century and where he was renowned as a portraitist. On 3 October 1621 he departed from Hometown at the time of the first Italian stage: Genoa Arrived in the maritime town, at that time directed by a Dogan government, on 20 November 1621 and took accommodation in the residence of Flemish painters and painters Lucas and Cornelis de Wael. Genoa, Antoon had already made about three hundred paintings, a situation opposed to that of his master Rubens or Nicolas Poussin, who on their arrival in Italy had not yet had the opportunity to work so intensely Presented to the best aristocracy of the city, he was able to portray some exponents Of the wealthiest families of the local patriziate (Spinola, Durazzo, Lomellini, Doria, Brignole etc); His immediate success is due in particular to the fame of Rubens, who had lived and worked a lot in Genoa, and of whom Van Dyck was seen as the new representative and continuator

Following the fortunate experience of Genoa, Van Dyck left in February 1622 to Rome, where he stayed until August of that year and for much of 1623. He was welcomed in the papal Rome, and was introduced into the best environment of society ; During his second visit he received from Cardinal Guido Bentivoglio two important commissions, consisting in the realization of a Crucifixion and a full-face portrait of the same Cardinal, the Portrait of Cardinal Guido Bentivoglio Bentivoglio had become cardinal the year before and was the protector Of the thick Flemish Roman community, having been a papal nuncio in Brussels from 1607 to 1615 In addition to the portrait of Cardinal Bentivoglio, one of the most famous of Van Dyck's production, the young painter also portrayed Cardinal Maffeo Barberini, who would become there Little pope, under the name of Urban VIII. There are also numerous portraits of this period, such as those of the spouses Shirley (
Portrait of Lady Theresa Shirley and Portrait of Sir Robert Shirley) Unlike Master Rubens, Van Dyck never loved the classic world His Italian Notebook, a sketchbook and drawings made on the basis of great works studied during the Italian stay In Rome, however, he had the opportunity to observe and copy the masterpieces of the great Renaissance, mainly to Palazzo Ludovisi and Villa Borghese

From the papal city he moved to Florence, where he met Don Lorenzo de 'Medici, son of Grand Duke Ferdinand I, great art passionate and generous patrons Probably painted a portrait of nobleman who was lost Along the way to reach the Veneto, In Bologna and Parma, where he admired the frescoes of Correggio Giunse finally in Venice, where he spent the winter 1622 In the lagoon town, home to one of his favorite artists, Titian, was led to visit the great Venetian masterpieces by his nephew Nicholas, Cesare Vecellio Antoon could finally crown his dream, see and analyze the works of Tiziano and Paolo Veronese: in his Italian Notebook there are drawings of works by Giorgione, Raffaello, Guercino, Carracci, Bellini, Tintoretto, Leonardo, but to prevail Those of Titian, to which two hundred pages are dedicated

From Venice passed to Mantua, where he was introduced to the court of the Gonzaga. Here he met Ferdinand and Vincenzo II Gonzaga, who had been the protector of Rubens. With his stay in Mantua, Van Dyck had the opportunity to see the Dukes' collection before it was dispersed. In 1623 Was again in Rome, a city in which he refused to come into contact with the local association of Flemish painters, far from the academic style, which led to a simple and non-ostentatious life such as his

From Rome he passed to Genoa, stopping first in Milan and Turin, where he was received by the Savoy

In April 1624, Emanuele Filiberto of Savoy, Viceroy of Sicily on behalf of the King of Spain Philip IV, invited Van Dyck to Palermo to take an Antoon portrait. He received the invitation and moved to Sicily where he depicted the Viceroy. Is located today at the Dulwich Picture Gallery in London Shortly after the city of Palermo was struck by a terrible plague epidemic that killed the same Emanuele Filiberto Despite the rage of the plague, Van Dyck remained in the city until about September 1625

Here he met the aged painter Sofonisba Anguissola, who is now ninety years old, who would die the following year and Antoon made a portrait During the encounter, which Van Dyck described as "very courteous," the elderly woman, almost completely blind, gave Precious advices and warnings to the young painter as well as telling stories about his life The portrait of Sofonisba Anguissola is kept in the Italian Notebook Shortly after the find of the relics of Santa Rosalia (July 15, 1624), who was patron saint of the city, in Van Dyck Some canvases were to be commissioned in Palermo that would have depicted the holy Dipinse among others a Crucifixion, today exhibited in the cathedral of San Lorenzo in Trapani

In the autumn of 1625, Antoon returned to Genoa where he completed the realization of the Madonna of the Rosary, then sent to Palermo, where he is exposed to the oratory of San Lorenzo considered to be the greatest religious masterpiece of the artist Negli Years later, until 1627, Van Dyck resided almost always in Genoa except for a short period in 1625 when he was a guest in the Provence of humanist Nicolas-Claude Fabri de Peiresc

During his stay in Genoa, Antoon van Dyck was mainly a portraitist While not abandoning religious and mythical themes, the artist focused on the genre of the portrait: his canvases were usually large and featured characters of the best nobility often full-length The portraits stand out for their majesty and for the great psychological rendering of people, which emerges without the need for a particular symbolism. Double portraits are rare and always divided into two different canvases, such as the Equestrian Portrait of Anton Giulio Brignole-Sale, created Together with the Portrait of Paolina Adorno, Brignole-Sale marchesa Van Dyck's special attention is to group portraits, such as the Lomellini family, and portraits of children. Even though Rubens is once again his constant reference, Van Dyck succeeds in making To radiate from his characters a greater detachment and the sense of grandeur that the great names of the rich aristocracy of the city want Show off
The children are taught with great skill, singly, as in the case of Portrait of Filippo Cattaneo and Portrait of Maddalena Cattaneo (already known as Clelia Cattaneo) or accompanied by their parents, such as the Portrait of a Genoese noblewoman with his son

In September 1627 he returned to his native Antwerp, recalled by the death of his sister Cornelia. The first months were characterized by a great religious production: Antoon, a fervent Catholic, joined the Brotherhood of Celibs, created by the Jesuits of Antwerp, who also commissioned him two d Altar, performed between 1629 and 1630 In this period the portraits of mythological character (Sansone and Dalila) are rare, while abounding those of a biblical-religious character, among which stand out the painting Estasi of St. Augustine, next to A canvas of Rubens and one of Jordaens and the Adoration of the Shepherds In addition to this, Van Dyck also performed six Crucifixions, a Lamentation on the Dead Christ and a Crowning of Thorns All these works are interspersed with a fervor and intense depths Mystics, but above all in the latter, there are preromantic notes in addition to the predominant baroque line

The fame of a great portraitist with whom he had returned from his stay in Italy allowed him to enter the service of the Archbishop Isabella of Habsburg, regent of the Netherlands on behalf of the king of Spain, of whom he became a court painter. Archiduchess, for whom he received in return a gold necklace and many members of his court. With the entrance to court he grew more and more his reputation as a portraitist. The tenants were very numerous and belonged to the great families of the nobility of Flanders and Of Brabant One of the greatest works of the time is the Portrait of Maria Luisa de Tassis, one of the richest families in northern Europe The noblewoman looks confident, aware of her beauty, with a precious and elaborate outfit In September 1631 Van Dyck received In her studio, the queen of France, Maria de 'Medici, together with her younger son, Gastone d'Orléans, in exile, who had been portrayed. The queen left an account of Your visit to Van
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