Museum of Fine Arts of València Restores Van Dyck Equestrian Portrait
February 11 2021
Picture: gva.es
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
Museum of Fine Arts of València has redisplayed a recently conserved portrait of Francisco de Moncada, 3rd Marquis of Aytona, After Sir Anthony Van Dyck. This restoration work was undertaken by l'Institut Valencià de Restauració, Conservació i Investigació (IVCR+i). The work, which seems to by owned by the Prado, had been a part of Valencian collection of Colonel Manuel Montesinos y Molina before it was acquired by the museum.
Although the article seems to suggest that the Valencian picture is by Van Dyck himself, the 2004 catalogue raisonné of the artist lists the work as being a copy of the original in the Louvre, Paris.
Many of you will spot that the composition is taken from Van Dyck's portrait of King Charles I in the Royal Collection. Indeed, I've always found it curious that the Marquis was painted wearing the exact same Greenwich armour as Charles does. This is surprising, as the Spanish tended to like highly gilded and flamboyant armours in this period. So here it seems obvious that Van Dyck used prepared studies which he brought with him to Brussels where he is believed to have completed the picture. In this case, it's possible that the head was simply stuck on. Very useful when you're trying to make an impressive painting in a hurry.
Here's a better image from the website above:
