FOLLOWER OF SIR ANTHONY VAN DYCK | Portrait of King Charles I

oil on oak panel This is a variation of the iconic three-quarter-length portrait of King Charles I, datable to 'circa' 1632–33, by Sir Anthony van Dyck – Principal Painter to the English Monarch. The prototype for this likeness is the painting owned by The Duke of Norfolk at Arundel Castle, Sussex.1 In it the King wears armour and the Garter badge on a gold chain, holding a baton in his right hand, with his left arm resting on a helmet next to a crown. It was an extremely popular image and there are many good, contemporary copies. The head was reproduced in an etching by Hollar in 1639, and there is also an enamel miniature copy in the Royal Collection. The artist who painted this work may have used a print as the model for Charles' head, but they have used their own license in furnishing his head with the crown itself. 1 https://rkd.nl/explore/images/57125

All paintings available to view at the Sotheby’s Greenford Park warehouse, 5 - 7 and 10 – 13 September (10 - 4pm), by appointment. The panel is uncradled, and slightly bowed. The paint surface is dirty, the varnish is discoloured, and there is evidence of wear throughout. There are a number of small, discoloured retouchings visible throughout the sitter and the background, as well as small losses, notably along the upper margin, and through the lower half of the sitter's face, collar, and armour. There are two vertical cracks in the panel, one running from the centre of the upper margin to his left eyebrow, the other running from the centre of the lower margin up to his collar. Inspection under ultraviolet light reveals retouching to both these splits, discoloured retouchings scattered through his face, collar, and armour, and lines of strengthening in the details of his crown and some of his hair and armour.
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