Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 20.djvu/25

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VAN DYCK.
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VAN DYCK.

to distinguish from his master's, as in "Saint Martin Dividing His Cloalc" (National Galk^ry, London, and iSaventhoni, Uclgiuni ) , and the "Raising of the Urazen Ser])ont" (Madrid and Hiclimond). This is tlie jn'riod of liis chief re- ligious worlsS. At his fatlicr's dying wish, lie presented to the Dominican Sisters at Antwerp a picture of "Christ on the Cross" (Antwerp Museum) . This was one of his favorite subjects; others were the "Pietil" and "licwailiiig the Dead Body of Clirist," of which there are s])k'ndid ex- anii)h's at Antwerp, Vienna, and Municli. Of his Madonnas welldvuown examples are at Municli, Paris, Berlin, and Palermo. His mythological subjects are less freipient : among tlie best known are "Danae" (Munich) and "Diana and En- dymion" (Prado).

His portraits were no less excellent in color than those done at Oenoa; they show increased dignity and nobility of clmracter. His celebrity is attested by the appointment as Court painter to the Spanish regents of the Netherlands, Albert and Isabella; his portrait of the latter is in Madrid. Other sitters were Maria de' Medici, the exiled Queen mother of France, and her son Gaston, Duke of Orleans (Earl of Radnor). Most of the best portraits in European galleries be- long to this period ; among them are those of Frans Snyders and his wife (Saint Petersburg and Cassel), the Count Palatine of Neuburg, the full-length Duke and Duchess of Croy. the so- called Burgomaster of Antwerp and wife, and the Organist Liberti — all at Munich; the beautiful Princess Luisa de Tassis (Liechtenstein Collec- tion, Vienna) ; Anna Wake (The Hague) ; Presi- dent Rieardo and his son (Louvre) ; and Cornells van der Geest ( National Gallerj', London ) . be- sides many others in English private oollections.

Van Dyek also designed for the school of en- gravers which Rubens had founded, his plates being executed by Panlus Pontius, Lucas Vorster, and others. He himself etched about 22 plates with fine technique; but he generally preferred to etch only the heads, leaving the detail to en- gravers. During his stay in Italy he began to collect materials for an iconographie work por- traying the chief celebrities of the day. The studies in grisniUc arc dispersed over Europe, but the complete work was pnlilished at Antwerp in IG4I. It is usually known as Van Dyck's Centum Icones or Icononraphiw.

For some time Van Dyck had been receiving overtures from the English King, instigated by the Earl of Arundel and his friend Kenelm Dig- by. He had been persuaded in 1021. but, differ- ences arising, he went instead to Holland. There he portrayed Prince Henry of Orange and the Princes Charles Louis and Rupert, sons of the exiled King of Bohemia (Vienna Gallery). At this time, probably, occurred his visit to Frans Hals at Haarlem, which romancers have elab- orated upon. Upon his arrival in England (1632) the King assigned him a house in Black- friars (London) and apartments in the royal palace of Eltham for the summer; he was knighted and named painter in ordinary to their Majesties, and the year following was granted a yearly pension of £200. The portraits of the royal family which he now began are perhaps his best known works. Among these are Charles I., the Queen, and their children, and Charles I. on horseback, at Windsor; an equestrian portrait of the King in the National Gallery; the por- traits of the King and Queen at Saint Peters- burg, and at Dresden, and "Charles I. Hunting," in the Louvre. In 10.34 Van Dyck returned to Antwerp, where he portrayed the new Regent, Don Ferdinand of Austria (Madrid), and the family of Count John of Nassau ( Panshanger), and painted his remarkable picture of the "Mag- istracy of Brussels in Session." From 1635 to 1640 he resided in England, and there he painted the host of ancestral portraits scattered tlirnugliout the seats of the Knglish nobility. Only tile sketch and the finishing touches of the ])aintings of this period arc by the master him- self, the rest being left to assistants. Among the most charming are the two celebrated groups of the King's children, the three with the spaniel (10;)"), Dresden), and five with the great Dane (1637, Windsor). Most of his works exist in replicas, and all important museums of Europe and the LTnited States possess examples.

On the death of Rubens in 1040 Van D.yck was invited to Antwerp to complete bis pictures for the King of Spain, but declined. In 1641 he went to Paris, but was disappointed in his hopes of a commission to decorate the Louvre. In fail- ing health he returned to London, where he died December 9th. He was a man of refined char- acter and aristocratic bearing, remaining all his life the piltnre cai-alieresco of his colleagues in Italy. The.se traits are very perceptible in the many portraits of himself which he painted, in the beautiful j-outhful example at Mtmich as in the maturer work in the Uffizi. From his youth he was a favorite of the fair sex, and many were his adventures; but in 1640, at the King's vish, he married Mary Ruthven, a Court lady of noble descent.

Van Dyck's character made him pnr excellence the portraitist of the aristocracy; his portraits are aristocratic and refined, usually with a touch of melancholy, sometimes, indeed, seeming almost posed and sentimental. Much modern sj'mpathy for the cause of the roistering Cavaliers of Eng- land is based upon his noble portraits of Charles- I. and his followers. In him Flemish realism was tempered by the refining influence of Italy,, manifesting itself in more subdued coloring and increased nobility of form. What Rubens sought to express by dramatic action he showed by intensity of expression. Van Dyck trained a large number of assistants, but did not form a school. He had a great influence upon the later English portraitists, like Reynolds, C^ainsborougli,. and Lawrence. Consult the biographies by Car- penter (London, 1844), Head (Loudon, 1877), Michiels (Paris, 1881), GuifTrey (ib., 1882), Knackfuss (Bielefeld, 1896), and Cust (London, 1900).

VAN DYCK, CoR.xELirs Van Allen ( lSIS- 0.5). An American missionary.' He was liorn at Kinderhook. N. Y., and graduated M.D, at Jef- ferson Medical College, Philadelphia. 1839. The next year he went as medical missionary to Sy- ria. He was stationed at Beirut, Arlieih, and Mount Tabor; was principal in a seminary ( 1848- .52) ; in the Siedan field (1852-57), and later at Beirut. In 1846 he was ordained to the Congre- gational ministry. He made himself master of the spoken and written Arabic, and undertook the work left unfinished by the death of Eli Smith