Frozen Moments in Time - The Art of Anthony van Dyck

by Anna Belfrage

Las Meninas, D Velázquez

Say Philip IV of Spain and chances are people will visualise a series of portraits by Diego Velázquez, principally that rather impressive work of art Las Meninas. What the great Velázquez did for the Spanish Hapsburgs in the 17th century, today’s protagonist did for the court of Charles I of England, painting a series of portraits that qualify as masterpieces. His skills made him the most sought after portraitist in England and as a result Anthony van Dyck became very, very rich and just as famous.

Anthony (Well, if we’re going to be correct his birth-name was Antoon) saw the light of the day on the 22 of March in 1599. His father was a well-respected and wealthy cloth merchant in Antwerp, and Anthony was his seventh child and second son. Where Papa travelled to sell his silks and gossamer-thin linens, Mrs van Dyck remained at home to raise their children and devote herself to her embroidery. Gifted with an artist’s eye, Mrs van Dyck embroidered landscapes and figures and little Anthony was quite enthralled by the end results. Soon enough, when Mama was sewing he was drawing on whatever he could find and so impressed was his mother that she managed to convince her husband to allow little Anthony to pursue the career of an artist by apprenticing him to the Flemish artist Hendrik van Balen from the age of ten.

Etching by van Dyck

It was apparent to everyone that Anthony had talent in spades. At the age of fourteen he painted his first commissioned portrait, proudly inscribing his age as well as his name on the finished work of art. At age sixteen, he and his friend Jan Brueghel Jr. opened their own studio. By now, Anthony was making a name for himself, not only as a painter but also as a draughtsman and an excellent etcher. (Some would argue that the art of etching peaked with Anthony’s work, never again to reach similar heights of artistry)

Anthony, self-portrait 1613-14

At nineteen, he was admitted into the guild of St Luke’s in Antwerp, thereby effectively recognised as a master of painting. With this under his belt, Anthony van Dyck was hired by Peter Paul Rubens as his chief assistant, which essentially meant he had made it to the top. Rubens was the most famous Northern European artist of the time, his studio churning out a stream of high quality paintings, many of them featuring religious themes. Rubens was a leading figure within the cultural aspect of the Counter Reformation, the Catholic movement spearheaded by Spain that had as its aim to limit the “spiritual damage” caused by the Reformation.

Tiger Hunt, Peter Paul Rubens. A lot of life (and death)

Anthony van Dyck shared Rubens' Catholic heritage and thrived under Rubens' tutelage, producing not only portraits but also a number of religious paintings and a few historical works. Rubens was very fond of historical paintings, huge canvases brimming with life and figures. He was also very impressed by his young adept, telling whoever wanted to hear that van Dyck was the best young painter he had ever met. He also encouraged van Dyck to foster his obvious talent for portraiture—a talent that required not only impressive skills as a painter but also a diplomatic flair to ensure the sitter was pleased with the end result. In effect, if a portrait painter wanted commissions, he had to be willing to do the 17th century equivalent of photo shopping to flatter whoever was being depicted.

Thomas Howard by Rubens

Rubens and van Dyck parted ways in the early 1620s. Rubens urged van Dyck to go to Italy and study the Italian masters. Our Anthony was all for going to Italy, but before doing so he detoured to England where for some months he was in King James’ employ. While in England, he met the Catholic peer Thomas Howard, Earl of Arundel, who was something of a fanatic art collector. Born in penury due to his father’s refusal to abandon his Catholic faith, Thomas was destined to end up heavily in debt due to his collection which contained everything from antique marbles to paintings by da Vinci, Rubens and a certain Titian. Our Anthony spent hours gawking at Arundel’s Titian portraits, realising just how much he had left to learn—and how right Rubens was when he repeatedly told van Dyck to go to Italy.

Anthony returned to Flanders to prepare for his trip to Italy. While at home, he fell in love and for a while there all thoughts of furthering his career by studying in Italy went AWOL as our handsome youth pursued tender caresses and kisses. However, youthful passions tend to be ephemeral, so after some months of cow’s eyes and ardent courting our young man did depart for Italy where he was to remain for close to six years.

Elena Grimaldi by van Dyck

A much wiser (if still rather young) Anthony van Dyck returned to Antwerp in 1627. By now, he had built quite the reputation and as he was not only a skilled artist but also charming and well-spoken he could soon add the Hapsburg regent of Spanish Flanders, Archduchess Isabella, to his clients. However, remaining in Flanders came with one major hurdle for someone as ambitious as van Dyck: there was one undisputed painting master in Flanders, and his name was Rubens, not van Dyck.

Meanwhile, in England King James had departed this world and been succeeded by his son, Charles I. While this king had about as much political skill as a bull in a china shop, he did have a genuine interest for art. Early on, he began amassing an impressive collection of paintings and during van Dyck’s years in Italy he had now and then facilitated a transaction on behalf of the English king.

Feeling somewhat frustrated by always walking in Rubens’ shadow, in 1632 Anthony van Dyck decided to try his luck in England. He was welcomed with open arms by King Charles and his wife, Queen Henrietta Maria. In fact, he was welcomed with open arms by more or less everyone in the English aristocracy. Once the king had decided he would only sit for one artist—van Dyck—his courtiers fell over their feet in their haste to have themselves and their families immortalised by the Dutchman.

King Charles, three aspects by A van Dyck

King Charles gave van Dyck a house and a studio at Blackfriars and was a frequent guest, together with his wife. The following years saw van Dyck churn out one portrait after the other, many of them of his royal patron and his family.

The Stuarts that gaze back at us from van Dyck’s canvases are a handsome lot, with soulful eyes and regular features. Such defects as buckteeth or excessive frailty are glossed over—van Dyck had no intention of risking his lucrative income by being too honest which of course has me wondering just how reliable van Dyck’s portraits are.

Charles I, by A van Dyck (and that horse HAS to be Spanish!) 

In his forty or so portraits of Charles I, the king is depicted riding, sitting, standing—always with a regal air that speaks of power and determination. Never is he presented as being as short and slight as he was. However, despite the potential airbrushing, the formal poses and the rich attires, the portraits pulsate with frozen life, as if at any moment the king will call for his horse, or the queen bend down to whisper something in the dwarf’s ear, or the young princes and princesses break apart from their tight group, the boys running one way, the girls another.

King Charles' children. IMO one of van Dyck's best portraits

Margaret Lemon (van Dyck)

All this painting made Anthony van Dyck rich. Very, very rich, which was fortunate as this was a man with little thought of tomorrow and a tendency to spend as lavishly as those he painted. He redecorated his house, he kept his various mistresses in style, dressed in the most expensive fabrics and in general lived life to the full. So profligate was his spending that his various friends at court became concerned and decided it was time their favourite painter settled down with a wife and got rid of his expensive ladies—especially his favourite mistress and sometime muse, Margaret Lemon, who according to malicious gossip had the temperament of an aggravated bear.

Mary, Lady van Dyck (van Dyck)

The king hoped that by ensuring van Dyck married an Englishwoman the artist would remain forever in England which is why he suggested van Dyck should marry a Mary Ruthvens, former lady-in-waiting to Henrietta Maria. Didn’t really work out as planned. Van Dyck spent months away from England both before and after his wedding, sometimes in Flanders, sometimes in France, where he tried (with little success) to win commissions from the French court.

To the left, Titian's portrait of Charles V
To the right, van Dyck's portrait of James Stuart.
Titian's influence is evident...

Anthony van Dyck returned to England for the last time in 1640. By then, the political unrest that was to explode into the English civil war was already evident, and the king had other things on his mind than being preserved in oils. Where before Anthony had had more commissions than he could cope with, now it was rather the reverse. It got to him, and the last months of his life were plagued not only by ill health but also by depression.

In December of 1641, Anthony van Dyck died at the age of forty-two. Other than his widow and two little girls he left behind an impressive collection of portraits, paintings that would set the standard for English portraiture for the coming century or so. Compared to Velázquez, van Dyck’s work can come across as bland, the little imperfections that give character toned down. But his undeniable skill with brush and pigments have given us vibrant snapshots of a world since lost, a time when gallants proudly wore lace and satin, long flowing hair and extravagant clothes. Young lions who would, to a large extent, lose both lace, ribbons, silk and life in the devastating English Civil War.

All pictures in public domain and/or licensed under Wikimedia Creative Commons

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Had Anna Belfrage been allowed to choose, she’d have become a professional time-traveller. As such a profession does not exist, she became a financial professional with two absorbing interests, namely history and writing.

Presently, Anna is hard at work with The King’s Greatest Enemy, a series set in the 1320s featuring Adam de Guirande, his wife Kit, and their adventures and misfortunes in connection with Roger Mortimer’s rise to power. And yes, Edmund of Woodstock appears quite frequently. The first book, In The Shadow of the Storm was published in 2015, the second, Days of Sun and Glory, was published in July 2016, and the third, Under the Approaching Dark, was published in April 2017.

When Anna is not stuck in the 14th century, she's probably visiting in the 17th century, specifically with Alex(andra) and Matthew Graham, the protagonists of the acclaimed The Graham Saga. This is the story of two people who should never have met – not when she was born three centuries after him. The ninth book, There is Always a Tomorrow, was published in November 2017.

The Poster Boys of 17th Century England

by Anna Belfrage

Whenever people talk about those handsome Stuarts, chances are they’ll come dragging with Prince Rupert, nephew to king Charles I, valiant royalist commander, owner of a famous dog, and yes,  he was good-looking as can be seen in the attached portrait. So were his brothers – especially Maurice, but a friend of mine says there’s no point in expending much affection on a man who got lost on his ways to the West Indies (What can one say? Big, big sea, no GPS – plus there was a hurricane involved) which is why said friend remains devoted to Rupert.

Lord John and Lord Bernard Stuart

Good looks bred true among the Stuart men – as can be seen in this portrait by Anthony van Dyck of Lord John and Lord Bernard Stuart. This is a fascinating portrait. Arrogant and endearingly young at the same time, the two brothers are depicted in the late 1630s, sixteen and eighteen years old respectively. Lord Bernard, the younger, sports blue and silver, and if one looks closely, one can see he’s wearing pattens over his dashing boots, reluctant to sully those beauties in the mud and grime to be found on your average 17th century street. Long, flowing hair, rich clothes, that cape worn with flair – behold two men intent on making their mark on the world. It was 1639, the young men were presently on their European tour, and who could have thought they would soon be embroiled in the vicious fighting of the English Civil War?

The first Esmé, James VI's favourite

John and Bernard were the youngest sons of Esmé Stuart, 3rd Duke of Lennox. Their father, in turn, was the son and namesake of James VI’s favourite Esmé Stuart, a very frenchified Scotsman who to the dismay of other, more rugged Scottish nobles, exerted considerable influence over the young James VI. Our dashing Esmé Sr. was the cousin of James’ father, the murdered Henry Darnley – and had lived in France for the first twelve years or so of James VI’s life. In short order, he became first the earl, then the duke of Lennox – but he had to convert to Presbyterianism before he could succeed to those titles, as his Calvinistic countrymen would have no papist in such a position of power.

James loved his cousin. Given his singularly affection-free childhood, what with his mother being imprisoned in England and he himself being brought up in the strictest Calvinist environment possible, it is no wonder he was attracted to this new relation of his. Further to this, Esmé was elegant and handsome, carrying with him a whiff of a world outside the somewhat dreary confines of Scotland.

The other Scottish grandees did not much care for Lennox, and one who positively disliked him was James Douglas, the Earl of Morton and one of James’ former regents. Very few liked Morton, who does not seem to have believed much in silk gloves. It was therefore a rather easy matter for Esmé to rid himself of Morton by accusing him of being party to the murder of the king’s father. Morton was guillotined – a fancy novelty at the time.  Morte a la Francaise, as Esmé may very well have said.

Even with Morton gone, the Scottish Kirk remained suspicious of Lennox, as did most of the Scottish noblemen. Some months later, things had turned and James was forced to exile his cousin. Esmé returned to France where he shortly died, his heart being carried back to James as a little gift. I’m not quite sure how James reacted to this present—a man raised by Calvinists would have little time for any sort of relics, even if it was the heart of a beloved relative—but he was delighted to welcome Esmé’s nine-year-old son, Ludovic, now the 2nd Duke of Lennox.

Ludovic

Ludovic would go on to be quite the man about court, entrusted with one high office after the other. As can be seen, he wasn’t bad-looking, even if the beard is perhaps a bit too much for my taste. Whether Ludovic’s genes would have carried through to the next generation we will never know, as he died in 1624 leaving no legitimate heir. Instead, his title passed to his younger brother Esmé Jr., but this gentleman expired of spotted fever some six months later.

However, in difference to Ludovic, Esmé had plenty of children. Five of these were sons who survived to adulthood, among them the two handsome boys van Dyck immortalised in the portrait at the beginning of this post.

Both John and Bernard died fighting for their king. John was only twenty-two when he died at the Battle of Cheriton in 1644, and Bernard was to die a year later of injuries sustained at the Battle of Rowton Heath.

George

The dashing John and Bernard Stuart had an equally dashing older brother, Lord George. He has also been painted by van Dyck, but in a somewhat more pastoral surrounding. It is thought the painting was made to commemorate his marriage and includes a Latin inscription “love is stronger than I”. The reason for this was that George had been naughty and married on the sly, without either the bride’s parents, or, more importantly, King Charles I’s permission. For some time there, George was consigned to the dog house, but war came swooping, and just like his younger brothers, George hastened to place his sword at the king’s service. Just like his brothers, George died – at the battle of Edgehill in 1642. His little son was four…

By the end of 1645, only two of Esmé’s five sons remained alive. His eldest son and heir, James Stuart, was as handsome as his brothers – almost more, actually. Yet again, we owe van Dyck for having conserved this handsome man to posterity.

James Stuart

James Stuart, 4th Duke of Lennox and 1st Duke of Richmond, stands before us resplendent in his finery – and yes, the Order of the Garter is most prominently displayed. As loyal to his king as his brothers, James was to invest most of his fortune in shoring up the royalist cause. A brave fighter, he also accompanied the king during his confinement at Hampton Court, and after the king’s execution, James was one of the four noblemen who carried the remains of the king to his final resting place at St George's Chapel. He died some years later, leaving his titles to his very young son – who in his turn died in 1660.

The fifth brother, Ludovic, seems to have retired to the relative peace and tranquillity of his lands in France. A wise move, as he was the only one of the five brothers to remain alive when the Wheel of Fortune turned, thereby reinstating the monarchy in England. Once again, a Stuart sat on the English throne, and while Charles II may not have been quite as gorgeous as his distant cousins, he definitely had his share of the Stuart looks.

Charles Stewart, George's son

Seeing as Ludovic was a Catholic priest, he left no legitimate heirs, and so it was that all the titles, all the extensive landholdings, came to Charles Stewart, son of George, the brother who had died at Edgehill. Charles had his fair share of the Stuart looks, and could afford to spend lavishly on clothes and accessories. He married several times, the third time to his distant cousin the very gorgeous Frances Stewart (so gorgeous was Frances she was used as the model for Britannia on the coins minted to commemorate the war against the Dutch thereby proving good looks was not only the prerogative of the Stuart men) despite knowing Charles II had quite a tendresse for the lady in question.

Frances, La Belle Stuart

Apparently, Charles II had it in him to forgive the happy couple, and our Charles rose to become one of Charles II’s most trusted men, and it was in this capacity he was dispatched to Denmark in 1671, there to attempt to convince Denmark to join England in making war on the Dutch. While there, Charles drowned in Elsinore, and just like that, the Stuart Dukes of Lennox and Richmond had ceased to be. Or?

Charles Lennox

Some years later, the titles were resuscitated and given to Charles II’s son with Louise de Kérouiaille, Charles Lennox. At the time, the new duke was a boy of three, but over time he grew up to be a competent enough man and a great fan of cricket. And just like so many of the Stuart men, this little Charles had his fair share of good looks. No wonder, given his father and his pretty, pretty mother…

A handsome bunch, all those Stuart men. Personally, it is the portrait of James Stuart and his dog that I find the most compelling. Such a handsome, confident man – a good man, as expressed by the devotion in his greyhound’s eyes, as testified by how he placed his entire fortune at the disposal of his king. Ultimately, it would not help: King Charles I lost his war against Parliament, and men like James, like his brothers John, Bernard and George, paid the price for their loyalty. But once, those five Stuart brothers had it all. For a very brief period of time, the world was their oyster, there to be enjoyed in full. I hope they did!

All pictures in public domain and/or licensed under Wikimedia Creative Commons

~~~~~~~~~~~

Had Anna Belfrage been allowed to choose, she’d have become a professional time-traveller. As such a profession does not exist, she became a financial professional with two absorbing interests, namely history and writing.

Presently, Anna is hard at work with The King’s Greatest Enemy, a series set in the 1320s featuring Adam de Guirande, his wife Kit, and their adventures and misfortunes in connection with Roger Mortimer’s rise to power. And yes, Edmund of Woodstock appears quite frequently. The first book, In The Shadow of the Storm was published in 2015, the second, Days of Sun and Glory, was published in July 2016, and the third, Under the Approaching Dark, was published in April 2017.

When Anna is not stuck in the 14th century, she's probably visiting in the 17th century, specifically with Alex(andra) and Matthew Graham, the protagonists of the acclaimed The Graham Saga. This is the story of two people who should never have met – not when she was born three centuries after him.

More about Anna on her website or on her blog!