Anthony van Dyck, Flemish, 1599-1641
Title: A Boy Standing on a Terrace
Date: c.1623-1627
Medium: Oil on canvas
Dimensions:
188.3 x 125.3 cm
Credit Line: Bequeathed, Sir Hugh Lane, 1918
Object Number: NGI.809
DescriptionThe most famous portraitist of his time, Van Dyck enjoyed an international career, working in his native Flanders, Italy and England. In his early years in Antwerp, he served as an assistant to Rubens, working mostly on biblical and secular commissions. When he arrived in Genoa in November 1621, he began specialising in portraits of the local elite. He lived in Genoa intermittently until late 1627.
This painting almost certainly represents a member of a Genoese family as the style of the portrait is similar to other works painted in the north-Italian city during the 1620s. It is the largest and most elaborate of Van Dyck’s portraits of children. In his velvet, silk and lace suit, the small boy poses con?dently on a palatial terrace. However, his childish expression, the playful spaniel at his feet and the grandeur of the setting lend a vulnerability to the image, which testi?es to Van Dyck’s great skill as a portraitist. Based on the costume, this picture is thought to date from c.1623–24, although the combination of the sophisticated stance of the boy and the elaborate architectural setting suggests a later date of c.1624–27.
March 2016
This painting almost certainly represents a member of a Genoese family as the style of the portrait is similar to other works painted in the north-Italian city during the 1620s. It is the largest and most elaborate of Van Dyck’s portraits of children. In his velvet, silk and lace suit, the small boy poses con?dently on a palatial terrace. However, his childish expression, the playful spaniel at his feet and the grandeur of the setting lend a vulnerability to the image, which testi?es to Van Dyck’s great skill as a portraitist. Based on the costume, this picture is thought to date from c.1623–24, although the combination of the sophisticated stance of the boy and the elaborate architectural setting suggests a later date of c.1624–27.
March 2016
ProvenanceLuis Méndez de Haro y Guzmán, VI Marqués del Carpio; Gaspar de Haro y Guzmán, VII Marqués del Carpio, Madrid, 1651; bequeathed, Sir Hugh Lane, 1918
Exhibition HistoryPictures by the Old Masters given and bequeathed to the National Gallery of Ireland by the late Sir Hugh Lane, National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin, 1918
100 opere di Van Dyck, Palazzo dell'Accademia, Genoa, 21 May - 31 July 1955
From Titian to Delacroix: Masterpieces from the National Gallery of Ireland, Yokohama Sogo Museum of Art, 25 August - 17 October 1993; Chiba Sogo Museum of Art, 10 November - 20 December 1993; Prefectural Museum of Art, Yamaguchi, 5 January - 20 February 1994; Kobe City Museum, 25 February - 10 April 1994; Isetan Museum of Art, 14 April - 24 May 1994
European Masterpieces from the National Gallery of Ireland, National Gallery, Canberra, 25 June - 3 October 1994; Art Gallery of New South Wales, 21 October 1994 - 15 January 1995
Van Dyck, Riflessi Italiani, Palazzo Reale, Milano, 19 February - 20 June 2004
100 opere di Van Dyck, Palazzo dell'Accademia, Genoa, 21 May - 31 July 1955
From Titian to Delacroix: Masterpieces from the National Gallery of Ireland, Yokohama Sogo Museum of Art, 25 August - 17 October 1993; Chiba Sogo Museum of Art, 10 November - 20 December 1993; Prefectural Museum of Art, Yamaguchi, 5 January - 20 February 1994; Kobe City Museum, 25 February - 10 April 1994; Isetan Museum of Art, 14 April - 24 May 1994
European Masterpieces from the National Gallery of Ireland, National Gallery, Canberra, 25 June - 3 October 1994; Art Gallery of New South Wales, 21 October 1994 - 15 January 1995
Van Dyck, Riflessi Italiani, Palazzo Reale, Milano, 19 February - 20 June 2004
Label TextThe most famous portraitist of his time, Van Dyck enjoyed an international career, working in his native Flanders, Italy and England. The artist arrived in Genoa in November 1621 and lived there, on and off, until late 1627. This painting almost certainly represents a member of a Genoese family, as the style of the portrait is similar to other works painted in the north-Italian city during the 1620s. It is one of the largest and most elaborate of Van Dyck’s portraits of children. In his velvet, silk and lace suit, the small boy poses con?dently on a palatial terrace.