Anton van DYCK Antwerp, 1599 - London, 1641 Saint... Lot 21

Anton van DYCK Antwerp, 1599 - London, 1641 Saint Peter Oil on panel Mark of the city of Antwerp and of the paneller Guilliam Aertsen on the reverse side Saint Peter, oil on panel, by A. van Dyck 62.50 x 50 cm (24.61 x 19.69 in.) Provenance: Hubert Duchemin's, Paris, in 2019 Commentary: "The best of my followers." It was with these words, addressed to Dudley Carleton, diplomat, secretary of state and above all a notorious art collector, that Rubens described Anton van Dyck, a young artist of exceptionally precocious talent, still working in the master's studio. By 1618, Anton was barely 19 years old and already enjoyed a growing reputation throughout Europe. Born into a well-to-do Antwerp family in 1599, Van Dyck showed extraordinary drawing and painting skills from an early age. Thus, after some time as an apprentice to the painter Hendrik van Balen, he entered the studio of Pierre-Paul Rubens, then the most influential Flemish artist in Europe, around 1615. This formative stage was absolutely decisive in Van Dyck's work; it was at this time that he became a talented painter, nourished by the precepts of one of the greatest artists of his time. Nevertheless, it is still discussed by art historians, but despite some controversies, the majority of specialists are still inclined to favour a privileged and lasting contact between the two artists until Van Dyck's departure for Genoa in 1621. The work we present here should be compared with the painter's first Antwerp style, between 1617 and 1619, at the very moment when the young Anton was learning and painting under the guidance and guidance of his glorious elder brother (this dating is corroborated by the fire mark representing the arms of the city of Antwerp and also by that of the panel maker Guilliam Aertsen on the reverse side). He is not yet the great master of portraiture, the forerunner and inspiration of the entire 18th century English scho