Unknown Woman
Maker
Anthony van Dyck
(Flemish, 1599 - 1641, active in England)
Studiostudio of
Anthony van Dyck
(Flemish, 1599 - 1641, active in England)
Collections
ClassificationsPAINTINGS
Dateca.1639
Mediumoil on canvas
Dimensions29 x 23 in. (73.7 x 58.4 cm.)
frame: 38 × 32 1/4 × 3 3/4 in. (96.5 × 81.9 × 9.5 cm.)
Credit LineThe Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens. Adele S. Browning Memorial Collection, gift of Mildred Browning Green and Honorable Lucius Peyton Green
Label TextThe identity of the sitter is unknown.The sensitive characterization of this portrait, together with its intimate scale and direct mode of presentation, reflect changes that Anthony Van Dyck made in his style after arriving in England in 1632. Responding to English taste for the small, psychologically nuanced portraits of Cornelius Johnson, Van Dyck allied a new sensitivity, sprightliness, and ease of manner with the aristocratic sophistication in which his portraiture already excelled. The combination of elegance and animation that resulted was unlike anything previously seen in England, and these qualities had a profound influence on the subsequent history of British art. The characterization of the present sitter has been pushed to an unusual degree of liveliness. The arched eyebrows, brightly lit eyes, and direct gaze give her an expression of alert intelligence that conveys a greater sense of vitality and immediacy than is typical of portraits of the period. The vivid character of the features may be somewhat exaggerated, however, by retouching evident throughout the head.
The burgeoning demand for Van Dyck's work among the powerful nobles of Charles I's court resulted in a perceptible decline in the quality and invention of portraits emanating from the artist's studio in the last years of his life. In the present portrait, the delineation of the facial features with brown paint and the cool tonality of the flesh are characteristic of the late style of Van Dyck's studio, as is the strong patterning of the blacks and the coarse handling of the drapery. The satin that glows with luminosity in the best of Van Dyck's portraits here appears dull and leathery--so roughly blocked in that the illusion is scarcely convincing. The double strand of pearls dotted over the gown appears mechanical in its regularity. Indeed, the marked difference in care and nuance between the painting of the head and of the figure provides strong evidence of workshop production, in which a master painter captured the sitter's likeness and relegated the rest of the portrait to assistants.
Indeed, it is possible that the very last stages of the painting were completed after Van Dyck's death. An early inscription (since painted over) identified the sitter as "Henrietta, Queen Mother." The inscription appears to belong to the original paint layers, and its wording indicates a date no earlier than 1649, when Henrietta Maria's son, Charles, assumed the Scottish throne. Van Dyck died in 1641, presumably leaving many paintings unfinished in his studio. It may be that a studio assistant or other artist carried out the finishing touches on the painting at a later date, cannily presenting the unknown sitter as Henrietta Maria. In fact the woman bears little resemblance to extant portraits of the queen. The principal differences are in the marked arch of the eyebrows and eyelids in the Huntington portrait, as compared with Henrietta Maria's long-lidded eyes and nearly horizontal eyebrows, which give her a less alert, somewhat sleepy appearance. Moreover, the nose in the present portrait is longer, thinner, and smaller than Henrietta Maria's, which appears more prominent in size and projection, with a slightly hooked tip. Although the sitter's actual identity may never be determined, this portrait provides a strong sense of her vital presence and intelligent nature.
Status
On viewObject number78.20.20
