Sir Anthony van Dyck A Flemish Baroque Artist

Van Dyck with Sunflower

(self portrait)

Sir Anthony van Dyck, Flemish Baroque artist who became the leading court painter in England, after enjoying great success in Italy and Flanders. He is most famous for his portraits of Charles I of England and his family and court, painted with a relaxed elegance that was to be the dominant influence on English portrait-painting for the next 150 years. He also painted biblical and mythological subjects, displayed outstanding facility as a draughtsman, and was an important innovator in watercolor and etching. The Van Dyke beard is named after him.

Sir Anthony van Dyck

Portrait of Lord John Stuart and His Brother Lord Bernard Stuart

The more intimate and sensual, but still elegant style Van Dyck developed in England, c. 1638