Among the last works Van Dyck painted for his royal patron, these fascinating, beautifully preserved portraits have been in the same private collection for almost a century, and come fresh to the market with a combined estimate of £2,6m – 3,8. XNUMX million.
Conceived and executed in the summer of 1641, months before the artist's death in December of that year, they may be portraits of the prince and princess recorded among the possessions left in the artist's studio in Blackfriars on his death. Epitomizing the uncanny skill Van Dyck brought to child portraiture, a genre in which he excelled from his early years in Genoa, both works provide a penetrating likeness to royal children at a time when their world, and the monarchy Stuart, was on the verge of collapse.
Alex Bell, Co-President of Sotheby's Old Master Paintings, said: “Van Dyck was responsible for creating the enduring images of Charles I and his court, and in these exceptionally well-preserved portraits of his two eldest sons we see the artist to use his painterly skill to acknowledge both the youth and the status of his royal subjects. The tumultuous history of the Stuart court has always captured people's imaginations and with the further interest sparked by the fascinating exhibitions in London this year, it is particularly timely that these royal portraits, extremely rare on the market, come up for sale. '
Appointed "Principal Painter in Ordinary to Their Majesties" in 1632, Van Dyck created numerous portraits of Charles I, his wife Henrietta Maria and their children, many of which still remain in the British Royal Collection. Portraying his sitters with a relaxed elegance and understated authority, Van Dyck's sophisticated style dominated English portraiture until the end of the XNUMXth century.
Portraying Charles I's eldest son, the Portrait of Charles II, when Prince of Wales (estimate: £2-3 million) is a unique likeness of the young prince and one of the finest royal portraits of Van Dyck's late career. Depicting the future heir to the throne standing in the armor of the Garter ribbon, with his left hand resting on the hilt of his sword and his right on the head of a staff, this portrait marks a marked change in the portrayal of the young Prince. Moving away from the celebrated portraits of children painted alongside his siblings, the portrait exudes a more martial and adult gravitas, both in equipment and bearing.
It is not known when the King commissioned the painting of such an important portrait of the Prince of Wales, but the painting can probably be associated with a payment for the prince's barge, which on 9 August 1641 had “caridd his highness from Lambeth to Whithall". and from there to Sr. Anthony Vandickes and back again.
Though still very young, the Prince of Wales accompanied his father, Charles I, at the outbreak of the English Civil War, and was present at the Battle of Edgehill in 1642. When it became clear in 1646 that his father was losing the war, Charles was made to flee England and take refuge on the Continent. Following the king's execution, Charles led a series of unsuccessful campaigns to recover his throne. Following the death of Oliver Cromwell in 1658 and the decision of the Reformed Parliament to restore the monarchy, Charles returned to England in 1660 as King Charles II.
Painted shortly after her marriage to Prince Willem of Orange, the Portrait of Mary, Princess Royal and Princess of Orange (estimate: £600.000 – 800.000), is the artist's last portrait of the young princess. It is one of three versions of the drawing, all most likely painted in the summer of 1641. Mary is shown in a lace-trimmed fine orange silk gown tied with blue ribbon, and both her wedding ring and the large diamond brooch given to her by her husband the day after their wedding, 2 April 1641. By this date Van Dyck was probably unwell to finish the picture himself as it seems probable that the painting of The Princess's Costume was in his studio's care.
After her marriage aged just nine, the Princess remained in London until February 1642, when she traveled with her mother to Holland to join her husband. She returned to England at the Restoration but died soon after. Her son, Willem III of Orange, subsequently succeeded his brother Charles II and was crowned King William III of England in 1689.
