Anthony van Dyck
n.d.
Medium
Pen and black ink, with brush and gray wash, on cream laid paper
Dimensions
24.8 × 19 cm (9 13/16 × 7 1/2 in.)
Classification
ink or chalk wash
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
95721
Art Historical Context
This delicate drawing by Anthony van Dyck captures the Flemish master’s refined hand in pen and black ink with gray wash. Created on cream laid paper measuring just under 10 by 7½ inches, the work belongs to the Art Institute of Chicago’s Prints and Drawings collection. Van Dyck, a leading figure of the Baroque era and court painter to Charles I of England, was celebrated for his elegant portraits; drawings such as this one reveal the quick, assured line and subtle tonal modeling that underpinned his painted compositions. Executed with fluid strokes and delicate washes, the sheet demonstrates...
About the Artist
Anthony van Dyck · 1599–1641
Sir Anthony van Dyck (1599-1641) was a Flemish Baroque artist who revolutionized portrait painting and became the most influential court painter in 17th-century England. Born in Antwerp as the seventh of twelve children to a prosperous silk merchant, van Dyck displayed extraordinary artistic talent from childhood. He trained under Hendrick van Balen before joining Peter Paul Rubens's workshop as a...