Sir Anthony Van Dyke Biography

Dromo's Den

VAN DYKE, Sir Anthony, eminent painter, born in Antwerp, Holland, March 22, 1599; died in London, England, Dec. 9, 1611. He was apprenticed to Henry Van Balen, a painter of Antwerp, in 1609, and afterward studied under Rubens. In 1620 he left the studio of the latter to spend five years in Italy, where he came in touch with master artists in Rome, Genoa, and Venice. Charles I. invited him to England in 1632, owing to his high reputation as a portrait painter, and soon after knighted him and made him the recipient of a fine residence and an annual pension of $1,000. Van Dyke is counted the greatest of all portrait painters except Titian, and his diligence was sufficient to produce a large number of excellent portraits, several historical paintings, and a number of productions founded on mythology. Though fond of splendor and expensive style, he left a large fortune at the time of his death. He married Mary Ruthven, granddaughter of the earl of Gowrie. His paintings include "St. Augustine in Ecstasy;" "St. Rosalia Crowned by the Infant Savior;" "Samson and Delilah;" "Adoration of the Shepherds," and "Elevation of the Cross." Among his portraits are those of members of the royal families of the Netherlands, Germany, and England. His remains were buried in St. Paul's Cathedral, near the tomb of John of Gaunt.

The Teachers' and Pupils' Cyclopædia, Vol. V. (Kansas City: Bufton Book Co., 1909) 2011-2012.