Van Dyck

Best known for his lavish portraits of 17th-century nobility at the court of King Charles I in particular, Anthony van Dyck was also a master in the arts of drawing, watercolour and engraving. While his formal commissions are couched in the language of conspicuous wealth and power, his sketches and drawings display a taste for the dramatic action scene as well as a keen sense of character and humour. This book published on the occasion of the 400th anniversary of Van Dyck's birth takes a close look at all aspects of the master's techniques, his subject matter from highly stylised royal portraits to sketches of a beloved dog, and the modernity of his watercolour landscapes. Through a wide variety of ink and chalk drawings the text explores the relationship of the painter with the different media, and with the artistic conventions of his time. The biography places van Dyck in his historical context and completes a fresh, unorthodox view of this artist.