Head of a Young Man
Sir Anthony van Dyck·c. 1617/1618
Historical Context
Head of a Young Man (c. 1617-1618), at the National Gallery of Art, is an early study head from Van Dyck's formative years in Antwerp, when he was working as Rubens's most gifted assistant. The painting's fresh, spontaneous handling and sensitive observation of a youthful face demonstrate the remarkable precocity that made Van Dyck a master painter before he turned twenty. These informal portrait studies served as training exercises and reference works, building the artist's repertoire of facial types and lighting effects. The warm, Rubensian palette places the work firmly in Van Dyck's first Antwerp period, before the influence of Italian painting — particularly Titian — would cool and refine his approach.
Technical Analysis
The oil study on paper preserves the immediacy of direct observation. Warm flesh tones are applied with fluid, confident strokes, and the young sitter's features are modeled with a sensitivity remarkable for so young a painter.
Look Closer
- ◆Notice the oil study on paper preserving the immediacy of direct observation — warm flesh tones applied with fluid, confident strokes.
- ◆Look at the remarkable precocity — this c. 1617-1618 study was made when Van Dyck was working as Rubens's most gifted assistant.
- ◆Observe the warm, Rubensian palette placing the work firmly in the first Antwerp period, before Italian painting cooled and refined his approach.
Provenance
Possibly Josephus Augustinus Brentano, Amsterdam; possibly (his estate sale, at his residence, Amsterdam, 13 May 1822, no. 96).[1] Lord Clifton. Edouard Warneck, Paris.[2] (Galerie Dr. [Kurt] Benedikt & Co., Berlin) and (Van Diemen & Co., New York), 1928-1929.[3] Adolph Caspar Miller [1866-1953], Washington, D.C.; bequest 1953 to NGA. [1] Susan Barnes, Nora De Poorter, Oliver Millar, and Horst Vey, _Van Dyck. A complete catalogue of the paintings_. New Haven and London, 2004: 28. The painting was purchased by "Segault." The identification of this work with NGA 1953.3.2 is uncertain since its dimensions are smaller than than those of the Gallery's painting. [2] The provenance references to Lord Clifton and Edouard Warneck, which are noted in the catalogue of the _Eighth Loan Exhibition of Old Masters, Paintings by Anthony van Dyck_ Detroit Institute of Arts, 1929: no. 1, have not been confirmed. The painting is not among those sold by Lord Clifton at Christie's in London on 24 July 1922, nor was it included in either of the old master sales of the Warneck collection, held in Paris on 10-11 May 1905 and 27-28 May 1926. However, it is known that Warneck favored small-scale paintings such as this one. [3] The painting was in Berlin with Benedikt in 1928, according to Roger-A. d'Hulst and Horst Vey, _Antoon Van Dyck: Tekeningen en olieverfschetsen_, exh. cat., Antwerp and Rotterdam, 1960: 53. Benedikt was the co-owner of Van Diemen, but also opened his own gallery in Berlin in 1928 with an exhibition of old master paintings. The painting was exhibited at the New York branch of Van Diemen in 1928, and lent by Van Diemen to an exhibition in Detroit in 1929. The Berlin branches of Van Diemen and its affiliated galleries were liquidated by the Nazis at sales held at the Graupe gallery in Berlin on 25 January and 26 April 1935, but the painting was not in either of those sales.
