Isabella Brant
Sir Anthony van Dyck·1621
Historical Context
Moretto's Portrait of an Old Man (c. 1545) demonstrates his unflinching approach to portraiture at an age when most painters softened the physical evidence of time. Moretto's aged subjects are presented with the same directness as his young ones — the lined face, the thinning hair, and the diminished physical authority of age are recorded without apology or idealization. This approach distinguishes Moretto from the more courtly portrait tradition of Venice, where Titian routinely improved upon his wealthy sitters. In Moretto's Brescia, a merchant city without a court tradition, portraits served different functions — as family records, guild displays, and personal mementos rather than instruments of dynastic prestige.
Technical Analysis
Van Dyck's portrait shows his characteristic refinement in handling flesh and fabric. The warm, luminous complexion and carefully observed expression demonstrate his natural gift for female portraiture, distinct from Rubens's more robust approach.
Look Closer
- ◆Notice the warm, luminous complexion and carefully observed expression demonstrating Van Dyck's natural gift for female portraiture.
- ◆Look at the characteristic refinement in handling flesh and fabric, distinct from Rubens's more robust approach.
- ◆Observe this 1621 portrait of a subject painted with the elegance that would define Van Dyck's mature style.
Provenance
Pierre Crozat [1665-1740], Paris; by inheritance to his nephews, first to Louis-François Crozat, marquis du Châtel [1691-1750], Paris, and then [on Louis-François' death without a male heir] to Louis-Antoine Crozat, baron de Thiers [1700-1770]; the latter's heirs; purchased 1772, through Denis Diderot [1713-1784] as an intermediary, by Catherine II, empress of Russia [1729-1796], for the Imperial Hermitage Gallery, Saint Petersburg; purchased August 1930, as a painting by Peter Paul Rubens, through (Matthiesen Gallery, Berlin; P. & D. Colnaghi & Co., London; and M. Knoedler & Co., New York) by Andrew W. Mellon, Pittsburgh and Washington, D.C.; deeded 30 March 1932 to The A.W. Mellon Educational and Charitable Trust, Pittsburgh;[1] gift 1937 to NGA. [1] Mellon purchase date and date deeded to Mellon Trust is according to Mellon collection files in NGA curatorial records and David Finley's notebook (donated to the National Gallery of Art in 1977, now in the Gallery Archives).
