Anthony Van Dyck
by Christopher Brown
from Rizzoli International Publications
Coinciding with the 1999 exhibitions of his paintings in Antwerp and London, Anthony van Dyck: 1599-1641 celebrates the 400th anniversary of the birth of the celebrated Flemish painter. Van Dyck is perhaps best known for his religious paintings, which are outstanding examples of the Baroque style, and he is also considered one of the greatest portrait painters in an age of exceptional portraitists. He revolutionized royal portraiture in England by introducing more dynamic compositions, often incorporating the dramatic presence of a draped curtain leading out into a natural vista and open skies. Born in Antwerp to a wealthy merchant family, van Dyck began to paint at the age of 10 and had already earned the privilege of studying with Peter Paul Rubens by the time he was a teenager. He shared a workshop with Jan Brueghel the Younger, and his contemporaries included Poussin, Lorrain, and Velázquez. Later he would become court painter for King James of England, as well as for Charles I, and he immortalized their key subjects during the charged era of the English Civil War. He had a special talent for depicting his regal subjects with a relaxed elegance not seen in the more formal portraiture that had preceded him. And his ability to paint sumptuous fabrics is almost unparalleled.
This large, stately, cloth-covered hardback contains over 100 of van Dyck's masterpieces, including rarely seen works. Its 359 pages are lavishly illustrated with quality full-color reproductions, including painting details and preliminary drawings. A chronology, descriptions of each work, and essays by prominent scholars in the field make this the most authoritative volume on the artist to date. --A.C. Smith
Van Dyck: A Complete Catalogue of Paintings
Sir Anthony Van Dyck (1599–1641) is among the greatest portrait painters of all time. The 1990s opened and closed with major exhibitions devoted to his work, and now the long-awaited catalogue raisonné of his painted oeuvre is complete.
A native of Antwerp, Van Dyck also lived and worked for long periods in Italy and England, where his brief, productive life ended. He is best known for his work at the court of Charles I. His full-length portraits of aristocrats in the Caroline court and in Genoa, Antwerp, Brussels, and The Hague influenced the history of Western portraiture into the twentieth century in the work of John Singer Sargent. Handsomely designed and illustrated, the volume includes a reproduction of every known authentic painting by the artist as well as the provenance and the significant facts and literature on each. This catalogue raisonné is, fittingly, the collaborative work of an international team devoted to the study of this major international artist.
Susan J. Barnes, an independent art historian, co-curated a Van Dyck exhibit in Washington, D.C., 1990. Nora De Poorter is director of the Rubenianum, Antwerp. Oliver Millar, Surveyor Emeritus of The Queen’s Pictures, organized an exhibition of Van Dyck’s English work at the National Portrait Gallery, London, 1982–83. Horst Vey, former director of the Kunsthalle, Karlsruhe, is author of the standard work on Van Dyck’s drawings.
Published for the Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art
September Art
672 pp. 450 b/w + 150 color illus. 9 3/4 x 12
ISBN 0-300-09928-2 $175.00sc
Masters of Art: Van Dyck (Masters of Art)
by Alfred Moir
from Harry N. Abrams
This superb new biography provides the fullest narrative of Van Dyck's life and personality to appear in English.
Little journeys to the homes of eminent painters: Anthony Van Dyck (Little journeys)
Lely & the Stuart portrait painters;: A study of English portraiture before & after Van Dyck;
Anthony Van Dyck: Thomas Howard, the Earl of Arundel (Getty Museum Studies on Art)
During his first visit to London, Anthony van Dyck produced his portrait of Thomas Howard. It marked the beginning of van Dyck's brilliant international career. Thomas Howard, a prominent member of the court of James I, was to become one of the greatest and most enlightened collectors and patrons England has ever known. In this probing study, White provides a history both of Howard, and of van Dyck, whose canvases established the grand tradition of portraiture both in England and on the Continent. This volume in the Getty Museum Studies in Art series offers not only a complete study of a great painting but also a primer on how great collections are formed and great careers are launched.
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