Portrait of a Genoese Nobleman
Anthony van Dyck (1599–1641)
1624
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From 1621 to 1627, the young Anthony van Dyck was in Italy, on the seventeenth-century equivalent of a study trip. His remarkable ‘Italian Sketchbook’ (British Museum, London), which is above all devoted to copy drawings after works by Titian, but also reveals his study of a number of other Italian artists of the sixteenth century and also on occasion classical antiquities, represents an invaluable source of information concerning the focus of his attention, but does not provide a complete picture of his activity during those years. The reason is that Van Dyck was working as well as learning, and was above all busy producing an impressive body of glamorous portraits. By comparison, his attempts to make the grade as a religious painter were decidedly intermittent, albeit not for want of trying.
This portrait of young man, whose age is given as 32, is addditionally inscribed with the date, 1624. In that year, Van Dyck divided his time between Genoa and Palermo, so it could have been painted in either city. It has been suggested, however, that it may represent a Genoese merchant based in Palermo called Desiderio Segno. Segno is documented in the 1630 post mortem inventory of his estate as having owned a portrait of himself, a ‘Saint Rosalie in Glory’, a Crucifixion, and a ‘Head Study’, all by Van Dyck. His date of birth has not been established, but since his father is known to have been born in 1566, it is perfectly possible that he could have had a son in 1591 or 1592. Be that as it may, the almost monochrome tonality of the work, which in effect casts a spotlight on the elegantly moustachioed features of the subject, reveals both Van Dyck’s debt to the general example of Titian and at the same time the panache of his intensely personal touch.
- Material/technique
- oil on canvas
- Measurements
- 131 × 101 cm
- Acquisition
- presumably acquired in 1712 by Prince Johann Adam Andreas I von Liechtenstein
- Artists/makers/authors
- Anthony van Dyck
- Inventory number
- GE 61
- Signature/inscriptions content only available in German
-
bez. rechts oben: AE.Ts.32.1624:
Siegel: auf der Vorderseite F.-L. Vormundschaftssiegel von 1733 in Schwarz (in Resten erhalten)
- Provenance
- first documented as an entailed estate by the seal of 1733, presumably acquired in 1712 by Prince Johann Adam Andreas I von Liechtenstein
- Iconography
- male portrait, not identified
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