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Hijo de Guillermo de Orange y de Luisa de Coligny, a la muerte de Mauricio de Nassau continúa la lucha por la independencia de Holanda. Militar de fuerte personalidad y sólido carácter; Van Dyck lo simboliza en la pared y la pilastra de piedra que finge a espaldas del retrato. El casamiento de sus hijos con príncipes de Inglaterra y de Alemania consolida su prestigio en Europa. Fue elegido stadtho
The famous Flemish painter is portrayed almost full-length, sitting in a chair and wearing red robes and a fur coat. This landscape painter and contemporary of Van Dyck had no left arm, which is clearly shown, rather than hidden, in this portrait. In keeping with the Northern tradition of portraiture established by Anthonis Mor (1519-1576) and Adriaen Willem Key (1515/1520 - 1568), Van Dyck places
In 1640, Van Dyck married Mary Ruthven in England. This lady of Scottish origin died in 1645. He portrayed his wife with her hair pulled back and an oak-leaf headdress alluding to her husband´s name, which means “oak” or “holm oak” in Dutch. She wears a shiny blue dress with a large décolleté, a pearl necklace and a bracelet with which she plays before the viewer in a gesture of clea
The saint is depicted leaning on a boulder, in a state of mystical ecstasy following his meditation on death. That meditation is symbolized by the skull, cross and book. He is comforted by a musician angel, as is told in the book The Little Flowers of Saint Francis (Part II, second consideration). This work is from the artist´s second period in Antwerp, where he lived from 1627 to 1632 before leav
This is one of a number of images of Saint Rosalia that Van Dyck painted in Sicily, where he lived from 1624 to 1625. It depicts the hermit saint in her cave on Mount Pellegrino near Palermo. Rosalia’s cult gained popularity during the outbreak of the plague that devastated the city in the 1620s.
A bearded, grey-haired old man turns his head to the left over a black background. This is similar to another head by the same artist (P01694) and is probably a sketch or model for a larger work, intended to study expressions and posture. This work is from the artist´s youth, as can be seen in the rough texture of the brushstrokes on the face, which link it to other portraits from his first period
Amalia de Solms-Braunfels (1602-1675) was the wife of Federico Enrique de Nassau (1584-1647), Prince of Orange, also painted by Van Dyck (P01482). As first lady of the House of Nassau, she wears an elegant black dress with a French collar. Its large décolletage is decorated with two rows of a pearl necklace and a short necklace. The broach on her bosom, the ring and pearl bracelets complete this i
Christ rests, lifeless, on his own shroud. He is held by his Mother, who looks imploringly to the heavens. Mary Magdalene kisses his hand while Saint John contemplates the scene from behind. The Crown, Nails and Hebrew, Greek and Latin inscription on a paper in the foreground recall the Crucifixion. Jesus’ posture on Mary’s knees and the work’s dramatic presentation are linked to the Medieval Germ
This dramatic scene from the Old Testament (Numbers 21, 5-9) depicts the moment when Moses saves his people from the snakes sent by God as punishment for their lack of faith. The bronze serpent on a rod, whose mere contemplation is sufficient to cure anyone bitten by a snake, symbolizes salvation. The image thus foreshadows Christ’s crucifixion, which brings redemption to humankind and triumphs ov
A protector and friend of Van Dyck, Endymion Porter (1587-1649) was secretary to the Duke of Buckingham and an important diplomat in the English Court. A great lover of the arts, he was in charge of acquiring works for the collection of King Charles I, and was one of Van Dyck´s greatest supporters during the latter´s stay in London. The aristocrat is shown frontally, wearing white satin, while the
From the 1857 Inventory of the Royal Museum through 2002, this work was listed as Diana and Endymion Discovered by a Satyr, but L. Ruiz has demonstrated that the scene is Diana and a Nymph Discovered by a Satyr, as the figure sleeping alongside Diana is female. Her body, completely covered by a bluish tunic, and her pearl necklace in no way recall Endymion’s masculine appearance. The satyr was a n
In the darkness of the Mount of Olives, Jesus receives the kiss that consummates Judas´ betrayal while Peter cuts off the ear of Malco, the High Priest´s servant, with his sword, as described in the Bible story. This work from Van Dyck´s youth is directly based on Venetian models. The low viewpoint and the use of a single source of light contribute to its great dramatic intensity
An inventory from 1636 describes this striking portrait of the Infante Ferdinand: A half-length portrait, which the Marquis of Leganés brought back, of the Infante Ferdinand in the dress and manner in which His Highness entered Brussels. He has a baton in his right hand. He wears a bright red velvet coat with gold trim, and a scarlet sash embroidered with gold, in which there is a broadswor
Various figures surround Christ and mock him. An armed soldier and an executioner place the Crown of Thorns on his head while another offers him a cane as his scepter. The scene is contemplated by two other figures through a window. This work from Van Dyck’s youth is strongly influenced by Venetian painting, and in fact, Jesus’ figure is directly based on a model by Titian. The composition, with C
This characteristic portrait from the artist’s late phase depicts Beatrice van Hemmema. Born into a Frisian family, at a date prior to 1626 she married Robert de Vere, Earl of Oxford. In the context of female portraits the rose that she is holding refers to fertility but if withered, as in this case, it may allude to the fact that the sitter is a widow.The placement of the model in the foreground,
Wearing black, with a broad, Spanish-style ruff collar and a three-strand necklace that she grasps in her right hand, this lady is presented to the viewer as serene and haughty. The influence of Anthonis Mor (1519-1576) on the conception of this portrait is appreciable in its verticality and its strictly black background. While the model's clothing is of an earlier style, this work has been dated
A young man holds a musical instrument that has been identified as a long-necked lute or guitarrón. His black clothing and the dark background leave his flesh tones and the white touches of his collar and cuffs as the only highlights, thus drawing the eye to his face and hands. This was a customary formula in Baroque portraits.The sitter’s expert grasp of his instrument indicates his famili
