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Print of man with mustache looking over his shoulder

A light-skinned man looks over his shoulder at the viewer. Only his head is rendered in detail. A single line suggests the contour of his collar, and the rest of his body is not printed. The man has medium-length curly hair, a long pointed nose, high cheekbones, and an angular chin. He has slightly raised eyebrows and a curly mustache, which give him a lively expression. His face is shaded with many small dots and dashes. The bottom of the page has an inscription in brown ink.

Identification and Creation

Object Number
2008.25.1
People
Anthony van Dyck, Flemish (Antwerp, Belgium 1599 - 1641 London)
Title
Self-Portrait
Other Titles
Series/Book Title: Iconography
Classification
Prints
Work Type
print
Date
c. 1626-1633
Culture
Flemish
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/323716

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Etching on off-white antique laid paper
Technique
Etching
Dimensions
platemark: 24.5 x 15.7 cm (9 5/8 x 6 3/16 in.)
sheet: 26 x 17.5 cm (10 1/4 x 6 7/8 in.)
framed: 57.8 x 47 x 2.5 cm (22 3/4 x 18 1/2 x 1 in.)
Inscriptions and Marks
  • watermark: fleur-de-lys in crowned shield
  • inscription: pen and brown ink below image: Ridder Anthoni van Dÿck
  • inscription: red chalk, lower margin: S

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History
Sir Peter Lely (Lugt 2092). Cledenin J. Ryan, Short Hills, New Jersey, sold [through his sale, Parke Bernet, New York, January 19-20, 1940, lot 112]. Mr. and Mrs. W. Clifford Klenk, Long Island, New York. [Sotheby Parke Bernet, New York, February 16, 1979, lot 610]. [R. M. Light & Co., Boston], sold; to Mr. and Mrs. Walter C. Klein, New York, gift; to Harvard Art Museums, 2008.

State, Edition, Standard Reference Number

State
i/vii
Standard Reference Number
M.-H. 4; Antwerp/Amsterdam 5

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Fogg Museum, Gift of Walter C. Klein, Class of 1939
Accession Year
2008
Object Number
2008.25.1
Division
European and American Art
Contact
am_europeanamerican@harvard.edu
Permissions

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Descriptions

Commentary
The Iconography is a collection of portrait prints made after drawings and paintings by van Dyck. Eighteen were etched by the artist himself, although the majority are engravings made by a variety of printmakers. This compilation of portraits of princes, politicians, soldiers, statesmen, scholars, art connoisseurs and most importantly artists, a survey of the most distinguished men and women of his time, went through many editions. The edition published by Martinus van den Enden during van Dyck's lifetime consisted of eighty portraits. Van Dyck prepared these prints by making oil sketches and drawings in black chalk, sometimes washed with brown ink.

Many of these eighteen etched portraits by van Dyck are rare first state impressions, including this one of the artist's Self-Portrait. The majority of the other eighteen are depictions of artists as well, including Jan and Pieter Brueghel, Lucas Vorsterman and Paulus Pontius-important reproductive engravers of Rubens's work, and Cornelis Anthoniszoon.

Publication History

  • M. Knoedler & Co., The Complete Etched Portrait Work of Anthony Van Dyck from the Collections of Sir Peter Lely and Prosper Henry Lankrink (New York, 1934), cat. no. 4, repr.
  • Joseph Koerner and Michael Zell, Lifeworld: Portrait and Landscape in Netherlandish Prints, 1550-1650, brochure, Harvard University Art Museums (Cambridge, MA, 1999), p. 5, checklist (unnumbered), fig. 3

Exhibition History

Subjects and Contexts

  • Collection Highlights
  • Google Art Project

Related Works

Verification Level

This record has been reviewed by the curatorial staff but may be incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of European and American Art at am_europeanamerican@harvard.edu