Portrait of a Man

Anthony van Dyck, c. 1620

Anthony van Dyck was one of the most celebrated portraitists of his time. His portraits flattered his patrons. Moreover, as in this one, he imbued them with aristocratic allure and an elegant, studied carelessness. The latter impression is reinforced by his loose painting style. Unfortunately, we do not know who the sitter is, but Van Dyck brings us face to face with a real-life human being.

  • Artwork typepainting
  • Object numberSK-C-284
  • Dimensionssupport: height 75 cm x width 59 cm, outer size: depth 10 cm (support incl. frame)
  • Physical characteristicsoil on canvas

Identification

  • Title(s)

    Portrait of a Man

  • Object type

  • Object number

    SK-C-284

  • Description

    Portret van een man, waarschijnlijk Johannes Baptista Franck, ten halven lijve naar links.

  • Inscriptions / marks

    inscription, along the top: ‘IOHANNES BAPta FRANCK, ӔTATIS SVӔ XXXII:’

  • Part of catalogue

Creation

  • Creation

    painter: Anthony van Dyck

  • Dating

    c. 1620

  • Search further with

Material and technique

  • Physical description

    oil on canvas

  • Dimensions

    • support: height 75 cm x width 59 cm
    • outer size: depth 10 cm (support incl. frame)

This work is about

  • Person

  • Subject

Acquisition and rights

  • Credit line

    On loan from the City of Amsterdam (A. van der Hoop Bequest)

  • Copyright

    Public domain

  • Provenance

    ...; collection Lucien Bonaparte (1775-1840), Paris, before 1804, whence removed following his exile; displayed in Rome, Palazzo Lancellotti, Primo Salone, no. 8 (‘Ritratto di Rubens, Vandik’), 13 June 1804;{List of 13 June 1804 by Domenico Conti Bazzani in M. Natoli (ed.), _Luciano Bonaparte: Le sue collezione d’arte, le sue residenze a Roma, nel Lazio, in Italia (1804-1840)_, Rome 1995, app. 1, p. 40.} transferred to the Palazzo Nuñez, room no. 74, 1806-10, 1811-22;{G.A. Guattani, _Galleria del Senatore Luciano Bonaparte_, 2 vols., Rome 1808, II, p. 7.} offered by Lucien Bonaparte now Prince of Canino, to the Accademia di San Luca for 2500 scudi, 1820;{M. Natoli (ed.), _Luciano Bonaparte: Le sue collezione d’arte, le sue residenze a Roma, nel Lazio, in Italia (1804-1840)_, Rome 1995, app. 3, p. 44.} application for a license to export to Bologna, as ‘Wandick: Ritratto di Rubens’, 17 October 1823;{M. Natoli (ed.), _Luciano Bonaparte: Le sue collezione d’arte, le sue residenze a Roma, nel Lazio, in Italia (1804-1840)_, Rome 1995, app. 4, p. 45.} application for an export license for the purpose of sale, as ‘Ritratto di Rubens’, January 1826;{M. Natoli (ed.), _Luciano Bonaparte: Le sue collezione d’arte, le sue residenze a Roma, nel Lazio, in Italia (1804-1840)_, Rome 1995, app. 5, pp. 46-47.} from whom purchased by the dealer Armand-Jacques Fossard, Paris;{B. Edelein-Badie, _La collection de tableaux de Lucien Bonaparte, prince de Canino_, Paris 1997, no. 78, referring to a handwritten annotation on the Musée Marmottan, Paris, copy of _Choix de Gravures … d’après Les Peintures originales de la Galerie de Lucien Buonaparte, 1812_. B.B. Fredericksen and B. Peronnet (eds.), _Repertoire des tableaux vendus en France au XIXe siècle_ , I (1801-1810), Los Angeles 1998, II, p. 1407.} ? from whom purchased by the dealer John Smith, July 1830, with SK-C-295, and recorded in his possession as a portrait of John Baptist Franck priced at 300 gns, 1831;{It was a pendant to J. Smith, _A catalogue raisonné of the works of the most eminent Dutch, Flemish and French painters_ , 9 vols., London 1829-42, II, 1830, no. 800 (SK-C-295).} from whom, with SK-C-295, £ 250, to Adriaan van der Hoop (1778-1854), Amsterdam, staying at the Caledonian Hotel, London (‘A fine Portrait of J. B. Francks. By Vandyck […] from the same [Lucien Bonaparte] Coll.n in a similar carved framed comp.n Picture’), 12 July 1833;{Smith & Successors _Stock Book, 1822-1850_, p. 35; _Day Book, 1827-1836_, p. 396, _Ledger, 1829-1866_, p. 46, the National Art Library, the Victoria & Albert Museum, London. Van der Hoop _Lijst_, pp. 5, 23, no. 67: ‘Een Mansportret van Franks, waarschynlyk van G. Franck, Directeur van de Academie te Antwerpen Ao 1634, door Van Dyck, with SK-C-295, voor £ 1050 NB Deze 2 Schilderyen van Rubens en van Dyck zyn afkomstig uit de Verzamelingen van Lucien Bonaparte’.} by whom bequeathed to the City of Amsterdam with 223 other paintings, 1854;{Van der Hoop _Taxatie_ 1854, p. 3, no. 67: ‘Portret van JB Franks, fl. 3,500’.} on loan from the City of Amsterdam to the museum, since 30 June 1885{The present author substantially augmented the provenance reconstructed in A. Pollmer-Schmidt, ‘Catalogus van de schilderijen in de verzameling van Adriaan van der Hoop’, in E. Bergvelt et al. (eds.), _De Hollandse meesters van een Amsterdamse bankier. De verzameling van Adriaan van der Hoop (1778-1854)_, exh. cat. Amsterdam (Amsterdams Historisch Museum/Rijksmuseum) 2004-05, pp. 135-195, p. 148, no. 51.}

Documentation

Persistent URL

Questions?

Do you spot a mistake? Or do you have information about the object? Let us know!