AFTER ANTHONY VAN DYKE

Frances Howard, Duchess of Lenox and Richmond (1577 – 1639), 17th Century

Oil on canvas
79.25 x 47.25 in.

Collection of The Bass
Gift of John and Johanna Bass
1963.038

Born in Flanders (1599), Anthony van Dyck was a student of Hendrick van Balen in Antwerp, and became independently established in 1615. In 1620 he worked alongside Peter Paul Rubens before relocating to England the same year, and on to Italy (c. 1621-1627). With a talent equally recognized to that of Rubens, Van Dyck’s status rose as he became the official court painter to Charles I in England as well as the Genoese aristocracy in Italy. Upheld as the epitome of a court painter and based partly on the style of Rubens, Titian and other Venetian painters, van Dyck set the standard for portraits of aristocratic sitters. His English style combines a delicate palette with an endless variety of graceful, yet dignified poses. Slender figures of noble bearing, complete with the famous elongated “van Dyck” hands became his hallmark. Van Dyck’s influence on European portraiture was profound and lasted in England for nearly two centuries.

The inscription on a plaque in the bottom lower right of the painting reads: “Francis Howard, Duches of Richmond and Lennox, Daughter to Thomas Lord Howard of Bindon, who was second Sonne to Thomas Duke of Norfolke whose Mother was the Lady Elizabeth Stafford Eldest Daughter to Edward Duke of Buckingham. Her Grace was borne the 27. of. July 1577. AETATIS. SVAE: 57.Ao 1633.”