Portrait of Antonio de Tassis (1584–1651)
Anthony van Dyck (1599–1641)
1634
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Antonio and Maria de Tassis were father and daughter, and their portraits have long been regarded as a pair, but that does not prove that they were originally thus conceived. Paired portraits of husbands and wives were two a penny in this period, but the same cannot be said of parents and children. Moreover, the portrait of Antonio has been extended by around 5.5 cm at the top and around 7.5 cm at the bottom, which means it was originally significantly smaller. Some commentators have also suggested on the grounds of handling that whereas the portrait of Maria may well date from about 1629/30, the portrait of her father is likely to have been executed around 1634. Last but not least, the voluminous splendours of Maria’s costume and her glorious ostrich feather fan contrast strikingly with the subfusc austerity of her father, and make them an odd couple.
The family of the Chevalier Antonio de Tassis, as the name suggests, was Italian in origin (‘tasso’ means ‘badger’, and they came from Bergamo), but had been based in Antwerp for a long time. He was qualified as a lawyer and then lost his left arm fighting in the army of the Spanish Netherlands against the United Provinces. Later on, from 1618 to 1628, he served as a magistrate on various occasions while also studying theology. He had married Maria Scholiers in 1609, but she died in 1613, and he never remarried, but instead was ordained as a priest in 1629, becoming an honorary canon of Antwerp Cathedral the year after. In addition, he is documented as having been an art connoisseur and collector, and also a tulipomane.
His daughter Maria, who was named after her mother, was born in 1611 and died in 1638. In 1636, she had married Hendrik de Berghe, the lord of Berchem, but died a few weeks after the birth of her twin daughters.
- Material/technique
- oil on canvas
- Measurements
- 126 × 89 cm
- Acquisition
- acquired in 1710 by Prince Johann Adam Andreas I von Liechtenstein
- Currently exhibited
- Garden Palace, permanent presentation
- Artists/makers/authors
- Anthony van Dyck
- Inventory number
- GE 73
- Signature/inscriptions content only available in German
-
bez. rechts oben: AETATIS 50 / ANNO.16..
Siegel: auf der Vorderseite F.-L. Vormundschaftssiegel von 1733 (1888 vorhanden, seitdem verloren)
- Provenance
- after 1651 together with the "Portrait of Maria de Tassis" (inv. no. GE 58) in the possession of Catharina de Tassis, Antonio's eldest daughter; subsequently both in the possession of Maria Anna de Tassis, granddaughter of Antonio and later Countess Cryckenborch; sold together in Antwerp in 1658; acquired in 1710 together with inv. no. GE 58 by Prince Johann Adam Andreas I von Liechtenstein from the art dealer Jan Peeter van Bredael, Antwerp
- Iconography
- male portrait, identified
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