A History of Art for Beginners and Students: Painting, Sculpture, ArchitectureWaters, Clara Erskine Clement
History
A History of Art for Beginners and Students: Painting, Sculpture, Architecture
Waters, Clara Erskine Clement
Art -- History
Vandyck kept up a fine establishment, and lived luxuriously. He had a
habit of asking his sitters to dinner; thus he could study their faces and
retouch their portraits with the more natural expressions of their
conversational hours, for it is rare that one is natural when posing
before an artist who is painting one's portrait. But in the midst of his
busy life as an artist and his gay life as a man of the world, Sir Anthony
did not forget the needs of his brother painters. There was at that time
no club or place where artists met socially to consult and aid each other
in their profession. Vandyck founded the Club of St. Luke; it met at the
Rose Tavern, and all painters of talent living in London joined it. One of
the more personal acts of kindness which are related of him is that having
seen by chance a picture which was painted by William Dobson, Vandyck
sought him out, found him in a poor garret, instructed him with great
care, introduced him to the king, and, in short, by his kind offices so
prepared the way that Dobson was made sergeant-painter to the king after
Vandyck's death, and won the title of "the English Tintoretto."
The portraits which Vandyck executed in England are numbered by hundreds
and are magnificent pictures. Those of the royal family are very numerous
and important, and there is scarcely a man or woman belonging to this
period whose name has come down to us in history or literature, whose
portrait he did not paint. He also made thirteen portraits of himself
which are still preserved. He was very skilful in painting horses and
dogs, and frequently introduced these animals into his portrait groups.
There is a large collection of the pictures of Vandyck at Windsor Castle;
there are many also in the private galleries of Great Britain and other
countries, besides a goodly number in the public galleries of Europe. He
executed at least thirty-six portraits of Charles I., as many as
twenty-five of Queen Henrietta Maria, and he also painted several groups
of the children of the royal pair. Prince Rupert of the Rhine and Thomas
Wentworth, Earl of Strafford, were also frequently portrayed by him, and
one of his most important large works was a family picture of the Earl of
Pembroke and his household. It is called the Wilton Family, as it is in a
salon at Wilton House; it contains eleven figures, and has been called
"the first and most magnificent historic portraiture in the world." Again,
it is said to be stiff, wanting in harmony, bad in color, and so on, but
after all it still remains a splendid monument to the skill and genius of
Vandyck. The picture is twenty feet long by twelve feet high.
Vandyck painted no portraits of the Puritans nor popular leaders of his
day; neither did he of the literary men who flourished at that time, with
the exception of the court poets, Sir John Suckling and Thomas Carew.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account