St Martin Dividing his Cloak

Saint Martin Dividing his Cloak from 1620 depicts the legendary act of charity by the Roman soldier-saint, a subject popular in both Catholic and Protestant traditions. Van Dyck's early religious paintings demonstrate his ambition to work in all genres of painting. Van Dyck's portraits defined aristocratic self-presentation across Europe, his elongated elegance and atmospheric painting technique establishing a model for formal portraiture that dominated British art until the nineteenth century.

Van Dyck renders the scene with dramatic energy and Rubensian influence, using the mounted figure and the dramatic gesture of dividing the cloak to create a dynamic narrative composition.