An important Van Dyck discovery in Scotland
January 6 2012
Picture: Scottish National Portrait Gallery
Since today is assuming a bit of a Van Dyck theme (see below), it may be a good time to mention an important re-attribution at the Scottish National Portrait Gallery. The above portrait of Civil War hero James Graham, Marquess of Montrose, was for a long time thought to be by William Dobson. But the Gallery's sixteenth and seventeenth century senior curator David Taylor has now changed the attribution to 'Studio of Van Dyck'.*Â
This is a bold step, and an absolutely right one. In fact, I'd go further, having seen the picture recently, and say that it is very probably by Van Dyck himself, albeit rather damaged. Later over-paint gives the picture the appearance of a less skilled work from Van Dyck's studio. The canvas had been heavily re-lined in the past, and this combined with some abrasion had given the picture a slight look of being painted on the type of thick canvas that Dobson ocassionally used.
I'd say it is a late Van Dyck, and I note that Montrose was in London in 1636. If he did sit to Van Dyck then, this picture would accord reasonably well with the artist's style at that time. It is similar to his portrait of Lord Goring, which was recently on the market, and which Sir Oliver Millar dated to later in Van Dyck's career, and as late as 1638-40. There is, incidentally, no other surviving candidate around to be Van Dyck's original of Montrose. So Scotland seems to have lost a Dobson, but gained a Van Dyck. With any luck, the SNPG may one day have the picture cleaned, and take off the later restorations. Then we can see what it is really like.
*The SNPG's website is a little muddled - it attributes the picture to Van Dyck in full, but dates it to 1644, after Van Dyck died. The label on the wall at the SNPG says "Studio of Van Dyck".
