Van Dyck and Rubens

The current debate about the two, almost identical, works by Anthony van Dyck is fortuitous; it comes exactly at the time when I'm teaching classes on the Northern baroque, specifically in 17th century Antwerp. So, I'm able to combine work with a blog post, and it's high time I did another post.

The Rotterdam panel was once owned by Rubens, which implies that Van Dyck modified Ruben's design to fit his own ideas. Questions of connoisseurship and attribution aside, the panels invite speculation on the relationship between two of the greatest artists that the 17th century produced.

Anthony van Dyck probably first met Rubens in 1615, the year that Rubens supposedly painted a portrait of the younger artist. If it is by Rubens, the portrait seems an attempt to check the stylistic exuberance demonstrated in Van Dyck's memorable Self-Portrait of 1613-14. In that striking image, Van Dyck looks back over his shoulder at the spectator; the effect is ambivalent, half innocence and half calculation, the latter borne out by his stare which is unflinching for such an apprentice. For apprenticed he was- not to Rubens, but to the mediocre Hendrik van Balen- a situation to be improved when Van Dyck officially became a pupil of Rubens in 1617. Rubens himself never took on young pupils preferring elder, accomplished artists, his reason being that younger painters should train with another master before entering his workshop. Perhaps this controlling tendency lies behind his portrait of Van Dyck, which whilist retaining something of the "romanticism" of Van Dyck's own, re-models his image. Gone are the tendrils of hair falling down over the younger artist's forehead; instead they are eclipsed by the shadow above the eyes.

Although Van Dyck seems to have joined Rubens's workshop around 1616-17, the employment situation was far from simple. The younger artist may have kept his own workshop, whilist also working in Rubens's, an odd, and illegal state of affairs since Van Dyck was going against the rules of the Antwerp Guild. Rubens seems to have turned a blind eye to this, not out of affection for his problematic pupil, but because Van Dyck was the greatest painter, after the master, in the entire workshop. Yet the two semi-identical panels suggest a dynamic between the two studios. The Stockholm panel is thought to be a copy, possibly based on the Rotterdam version which may have been used as a model. But did the Rotterdam version- owned by Rubens- come from his studio initially, or were the two panels conceived by Van Dyck in his own studio?  

That- and other connoisseurship issues- may be resolved by the large Van Dyck exhibition being planned for the Prado in 2012, but the relationship between Rubens and Van Dyck still fascinates with its narrative of intergenerational tensions, multiple studio operations and competitive rivalry. Consulting a catalogue of the Van Dyke exhibition of 1999, I find mention of even possible envy on Rubens's part towards a genius 22 years his junior, rapidly catching up with the elder artist, even surpassing him in one genre- portraiture. According to this source, it was the 17th century critic and biographer Bellori, who said that Rubens would only cede to Van Dyck in the field of portraiture, and no other. This may be why portraiture is emphasized in the allegorical headpiece to Bellori's Life of Anthony van Dyck. This figure- a woman holding up a mirror whilst trampling the ape of nature- representing "Judicious Imitation" explains why – as Claire Pace and Janice Bell explain in a wonderful essay on Bellori's allegories- Van Dyck whilist tied to his model as a portraitist, nevertheless was selective and judicious enough to supplant its limitations and put portraits on a level almost with history painting.

So much for Van Dyck in the abstract, but his early life in Antwerp was firmly down to earth with family squabbles, bankruptcy and acrimonious law suits. Van Dyck's genius was born of painful necessity, which takes the shine off the myth of the aristocratic artist fashioning courtly pictures for jaded and decadent elites. Van Dyck's financial embarrassment and its consequences may well have instilled in him that competitive and determined nature that gave him the confidence to go up against one of the greatest of baroque masters.  

Comments

[Online Roulette]

yhkbvbsujouifcmppe, Casino en ligne belgique, cfBgZHG, [url=http://walnuthillnortherndaylilies.com/]Casino en ligne gratuit[/url], HpNQQPj, http://walnuthillnortherndaylilies.com/ Casino en Ligne, ujUancK, Ppi claim companies, pEnzimR, [url=http://ppiclaimshero.co.uk /]PPI Claims[/url], mCWEvWX, http://ppiclaimshero.co.uk / PPI Claims, OHZRjKP, Casino travel, fHMLZTh, [url=http://babyblogbunch.com/]Casino[/url], lpzKYvn, http://babyblogbunch.com/ Us online casino reviews, glffdik, Viagra, sBrddJf, [url=http://arisecitizens.org/]Viagra for sale without a prescription[/url], PJcAQhL, http://arisecitizens.org/ Cheap viagra, GJkexZg, Online roulette tricks, JdeVpvk, [url=http://dhasolutions.net/]Online roulette play[/url], QyDfyNt, http://dhasolutions.net/ Online Roulette, OnRycrg, Options Binaires, MFAjxmk, [url=http://savvypatient.org/]Options Binaires[/url], whxqSix, http://savvypatient.org/ Options Binaires, bdwVuBR.

[Online Roulette]

yhkbvbsujouifcmppe, Casino en ligne belgique, cfBgZHG, [url=http://walnuthillnortherndaylilies.com/]Casino en ligne gratuit[/url], HpNQQPj, http://walnuthillnortherndaylilies.com/ Casino en Ligne, ujUancK, Ppi claim companies, pEnzimR, [url=http://ppiclaimshero.co.uk /]PPI Claims[/url], mCWEvWX, http://ppiclaimshero.co.uk / PPI Claims, OHZRjKP, Casino travel, fHMLZTh, [url=http://babyblogbunch.com/]Casino[/url], lpzKYvn, http://babyblogbunch.com/ Us online casino reviews, glffdik, Viagra, sBrddJf, [url=http://arisecitizens.org/]Viagra for sale without a prescription[/url], PJcAQhL, http://arisecitizens.org/ Cheap viagra, GJkexZg, Online roulette tricks, JdeVpvk, [url=http://dhasolutions.net/]Online roulette play[/url], QyDfyNt, http://dhasolutions.net/ Online Roulette, OnRycrg, Options Binaires, MFAjxmk, [url=http://savvypatient.org/]Options Binaires[/url], whxqSix, http://savvypatient.org/ Options Binaires, bdwVuBR.

[irene]

What's the leading expert Van Dyck painting on the world? Thanks.

[Female uk viagra]

vmcscbsujouifcmppe, Viagra samples, TkPyyNi, [url=http://amapenresistencia.org/]Natural viagra[/url], KqvtDpk, http://amapenresistencia.org/ Won viagra lawsuits in may of 2010, uciuPKL.

[Reduce Weight Fruta Planta]

Van Dyck and Rubens - Art History Today

[GHD Italia]

some really high-quality articles on this websites , saved to social bookmarking .

[True Religion Jeans Sale]

His Spring 2013 collection is titled "Dressed To Kill" and was inspired by the heroes and villains of classic 1960's James Bond films. Focusing on his strongest pieces to date (leather jackets, stylish dress shirts, dressier denims, and contemporary tailored suiting), Bates promises to showcase a dynamic and cohesive collection designed to inspire today's stylesavvy man. Each look will be fully accessorized featuring Italian leather belts, duchess silk ties, and leathertrimmed suspenders. Props to the person who snags them!). My boyfriend ended up getting a diamondpatterned orangeandpurple
True Religion Jeans Sale

[rachel]

What is important to remember whilst disciplining your young ones is regularity. Raising a child through the terrible-two's can be tough, for child and grown-up. During this period youngsters want to push the restrictions of what is and is banned. Make certain you set up very clear boundaries and they are consistent with the time-outs so kids really know what is anticipated of these.

[Canada Goose Jakker]

The Canada Goose (Branta canadensis) is a goose with a black head and neck, white patches on the face, and a brownish-gray body./r

[Uggs Classic Cardy]

Specialisti di sollevamento di carichi pesanti hanno accesso immediato your tutta una serie di apparecchi di sollevamento e di effettuare valutazioni dei rischi estesi every single garantire che l'operazione cuando svolga senza intoppi e senza pericolo di
Uggs Classic Cardy http://stivaliugg.nbufhouston.org/
Uggs Classic Cardy

[mcm taschen]

Sizeable kitten storage containers . vos pistes
mcm taschen http://mcmtaschen.vetronics.net/
mcm taschen

[Alex]

generador rex juegos cartoon network

[Möblierte Wohnung]

A very interesting report here. Thank you for it!

[seforim]

Thanks for info. ...

[imaaanrahman]

hHOW DR HARRY HERBAL CREAM HELPED ME GROW MY PENIS SIZE FROM 3.5 INCHES TO 10 INCHES LONG IN ERECTION

hello everyone in this forum i am little bit ashamed to share this marvelous story about a great spell caster who helped me enlarge my small penis size through his herbal mixture cream,i was heartbroken before because i have a very small penis about 3.5 inches which was so annoying and shameful i could not satisfy my wife in bed ,,my marriage was really breaking and i needed help urgently,i have used pills,vaccines,drugs,surgery but none worked…so one faithful day as i was browsing through the internet i saw few comments on a forum about how Mr SAKHIN MEHMOD from UAE testified of how he helped him enlarge his penis and also cured his dad diabetes type 2 disease,,i contacted him through his website link http://drharrysolutio.wixsite.com/dr-harry he replied and gave me steps to follow and i did just as he said ,and he sent me the herbal cream to me through UPS and i received it within 4 days and used the herbal cream for just two weeks to my greatest surprise my penis that was 3.5 inches before enlarge to 10 inches long when fully erected ,for just two weeks of using his herbal mixture cream ,,wow my wife loved me more and was so happy that i can satisfy her very well now in bed ,,i even last longer than before thank you so much DR harry for making life a better one to live in ..so if you are out there having similar problems please contact him now on his email drharrysolution@gmail.com or visit his website http://drharrysolutio.wixsite.com/dr-harry or whatsapp him on +2348143240563 thanks
note he also have cure for diseases like
PENIS ENLARGEMENT,DIABETES 1/2,HIV/AIDS,HERPES,CANCER,PREMATURE EJACULATION,WEAK ERECTION,ERECTILE DYSFUNCTION ,LOW SPERM COUNT PREGNANCY HERBAL MEDICINE HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE LOW SPERM COUNT LYME DISEASE

[jeffery jones]

hhello everyone this is serious and real i want to tell the whole world about how DR HARRY HERBAL MIXTURE CREAM helped me enlarge my penis size ..i have trying since 19 years of age to enlarge my penis but none rendered me the help i want i have used vaccines,penis pump,surgery,online creams from USA SAMOA,CANADA CAMBODIA,AUSTRALIA and many more but none of them enlarge my penis i was really frustrated and tired of living because my penis was too small ,imagine a cute and handsome 36years old man like me having 3.5 inches and to make it worse i was having erectile dysfunction which was so annoying to me,my girlfriends have left me because of my small penis ....to GOD be the glory as i was searching for help on a facebook page i saw one mr LASANTHA MADUSHANKA from italy testifying of how DR HARRY HERBAL MIXTURE CREAM enlarge his penis and healed his grandmom PROSTRATE CANCER .so i quickly visited his website link http://drharrysolutio.wixsite.com/dr-harry and message him on his email i saw on the website drharrysolution@gmail.com and he replied me and gave me comforting words and told me all i need to do and i was surprise he did not ask for money ,,i got his cream and he sent it to me through united parcel service (UPS)and i got it 4 days later and used the cream just as he told me and its just 1 days of using his herbal mixture my penis is now 11 inches long and 8.0 flaccidity am so happy to feel like a man in the bedroom at last so if you need penis enlargement,,HIV/AIDS,HERPES CURE.DIABETES 1/2.HEPATITIS B,breast enlargement,weak erection,erectile dysfunction cure and many sexual relation cure do not hesitate to email him now drharrysolution@gmail.com or website http://drharrysolutio.wixsite.com/dr-harry you can also call or whatsapp him on +2348143240563 thanks