Henri II de Lorraine
Sir Anthony van Dyck·c. 1634
Historical Context
Henri II de Lorraine (c. 1634), at the National Gallery of Art, depicts the Duke of Guise, a powerful French nobleman and military commander who was a central figure in the complex politics of seventeenth-century France. Henri de Lorraine (1614-1664) was involved in numerous political intrigues and military campaigns, including an attempted coup in Naples. Van Dyck presents him with the military bearing and aristocratic confidence appropriate to his rank, the portrait likely painted during one of the duke's visits to the court of Charles I. The painting demonstrates Van Dyck's international clientele during his English period, when European aristocrats sought him out as the preeminent portraitist of the age.
Technical Analysis
The portrait conveys military authority through the confident pose and martial accessories. Van Dyck's fluid brushwork captures the texture of armor and fabric with equal facility, while the face is modeled with warm, vivid flesh tones.
Look Closer
- ◆Notice the military bearing and aristocratic confidence appropriate to the Duke of Guise, a powerful French nobleman and military commander.
- ◆Look at Van Dyck's fluid brushwork capturing texture of armor and fabric with equal facility, with warm, vivid flesh tones.
- ◆Observe the international clientele seeking out Van Dyck during his English period as the preeminent portraitist of the age.
Provenance
Presumably the sitter, Henri II de Lorraine [1614-1664, became 5th duc de Guise in 1640], Paris. François Roger de Gaignières [1642-1715], by 1711; (his estate sale, Paris, 29 July - 6 August 1717, no. 22 [505 livres]).[1] Probably Sir Edward Grey, Viscount Grey of Fallodon [1862-1933]; by inheritance to the Misses Bright, Stocks.[2] Arthur Kay [c. 1862-1939], Esq., Glasgow, by 1893.[3] (H.O. Miethke, Vienna); Jacob Herzog, Vienna, by 1895 until at least 1899;[4](William Schaus, New York);[5] purchased 1900/1901 by William Collins Whitney [1841-1904], New York;[6] by inheritance to his son, Harry Payne Whitney [1872-1930], New York; by inheritance to his widow, Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney [1875-1942], New York; by inheritance to their son, Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney [1899-1992], New York; gift 1947 to NGA. [1] For the identification of the sitter as Henri II de Lorraine, and for an argument that Gaignières acquired the painting directly from the sitter's family, see three articles by Francis M. Kelly: "A Van Dyck from the 'Cabinet de Gaignières' in the Whitney Collection, New York, _Apollo_ 22 (August 1935): 91-94; "Un Van Dyck du Cabinet de Gaignières en Amérique," _Gazette des Beaux-Arts_ 13 (January 1935): 59-61; Flotsam from the Cabinet de Gaignières," _Connoisseur_ 107 (February 1941): 3-7. The painting is listed as no. 22 in a 1711 inventory of Gaignières' collection, which was ordered by Louis XIV; the inventory was first published by Charles de Grandmaison, "Gaignières. Ses Correspondants et ses collections de portraits," Bibliothèque de l'École des chartes, 1890-1892, 67 and appendice. After Gaignières' death in March 1715, the collection was inventoried and organized by Pierre de Clairambault, who was genealogist of the king's Orders of Chivalry, and at whose house in the Place des Victoires the 1717 sale was held. The painting is described in the 1717 sale catalogue as "Le duc de Guise de son haut, original de Vandeck." The inventory and record of the sale are in the Clairambault collection at the Bibliotheque Nationale in Paris. [2] Theodoor von Frimmel, "Van Dyck's William Villiers in Wein," _Kunstchronik_ 6 (16 May 1895): 385 note 1, states: "Von anderer Seite habe ich erfahren, dass dieses Bild mit vielen anderen aus der Sammlung Sir Edward Grey's durch Erbschaft an Misses Bright of the Stocks [sic] gekommen war." (I have learned from other sources that this painting, with many others from Sir Edward Grey's collection, came to the Misses Bright of the Stocks by inheritance.) This information has taken various forms throughout the literature on this painting; for instance, "the family of Lord Grey," "Lady Grey," "Sammlung der Grey," "Earl de Grey," "Count Gray," "Mrs. Bright of Stokes Park," "R. Bright, Stocks Hall, Herts.," and "Mrs. R. Bright." However, no sales or exhibition records have appeared to confirm these statements. The _International Studio_ article announcing the sale of the painting to William Collins Whitney says the portrait had been in the possession of the Buckingham family and then sold to "Lady Grey" ("American Studio Talk," _International Studio_ 12, no. 48 [February 1901]: xx, repro. xxi). [3] The painting was lent by Kay to the 1893 Winter Exhibition of the Royal Academy of Arts, London. That same year he sold some of his collection through Martin and Camentron in Paris. [4] Von Frimmel 1895: 386, provides the names of Miethke and Herzog, and Herzog lent the painting to the 1899 Van Dyck exhibition in Antwerp. [5] The _International Studio_ article (see note 2) provides Schaus' name, although it was actually Hermann Schaus, William Schaus' nephew, who sold the painting to Whitney. Hermann Schaus took over his uncle's business in 1886, but continued to use the original name even after his uncle's death in 1895. Correspondence from a descendant of Hermann Schaus' daughter (dated 20 November 1982, in NGA curatorial files) mentions the family story of a special search and bet with Stanford White that Hermann could not find a Van Dyck for the Whitney collection. One of Herman Schaus' obituaries (_American Art News_ [11 February 1911]: 4) says the painting was imported from the 1899 exhibition. [6] Whitney's acquisition of the painting was announced in the _International Studio_ article (see note 2).
