Justus Sustermans. From Icones principum virorum ('The Iconography')

The Iconography (Icones principum virorum) is a very large series of portrait prints made after drawings and paintings by the famous Antwerp - and later international - court artist and painter, Anthony van Dyck (1599-1641). Eighteen prints were etched by the artist himself, although the majority are engravings made by a variety of printmakers: van Dyck found painting more profitable than printmaking. This compilation of portraits of princes, politicians, soldiers, statesmen, scholars, art connoisseurs and most importantly artists, a survey of the most distinguished men and women of his time, went through many editions.

At the time of van Dyck's premature death, there were 80 such prints (52 were of artists); in the late 18th century this had grown to over 200. The Iconography proved hugely influential as a commercial model for reproductive printmaking, and influenced portrait painting in turn. It only became superseded in the mid-19th century with the advent of photography.

While the original 18 'icons' are the most prized, especially in their early states, engraving was added by other hands, in many instances commissioned and approved by van Dyck himself and executed by highly skilled practitioners such as Paulus Pontius, Schelte Adamsz. Bolswert and Lucas Vorsterman. Sometimes his work is obscured by them, to the dismay of purist connoisseurs!

In art historical terms, van Dyck's own etchings are greatly admired. He was a brilliant technician, and his 'unfinished but complete' approach, where the heads are fully worked out but the costume and hands unfinished, is remarkably modern. This went on to influence portraitists of later centuries, particularly those who believed in 'bravura' and virtuosity, such as John Singer Sargent and Augustus John. Print expert Arthur Hind wrote: 'Portrait etching had scarcely had an existence before his time, and in his work it suddenly appears at the highest point ever reached in the art'.

Yes, but... in its exhibition 'Masters of the Bitten Line' (2006), the Auckland Art Gallery comments astutely on both van Dyck's strengths and weaknesses, with particular relevance to this etching:

'Technically Van Dyck's etchings are magnificent failures. The drawing shows his virtuosity, but the etching demonstrates that he was a careless and inexpert practitioner. His plates were not well prepared as can be seen by the fine vertical lines printed across the surface which resulted from sanding the plate. Although he used stopping-out varnish to prevent the edges of his prints from being etched he was sloppy in its use. The white spot below the buttons on Sustermans' chest and in the right corner of the portrait resulted from drops of varnish falling on the plate, thus preventing the areas from being bitten by the acid. Yet the technical deficiencies of Van Dyck's etchings do not take away from the works. If anything, combined with their sketchy quality and refreshing simplicity, they give the works an immediacy suggestive of the speed with which he must have worked.'

The Flemish painter Justus Sustermans (1597-1681) was an eminent and far longer-lived contemporary and compatriot of van Dyck. This is the third state of the plate and dates from shortly after van Dyck's death, retaining many of the qualities of his original etching, made in the early 1630s.

See:

Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tamaki, 'Anthony van Dyck: Justus Sustermans', https://www.aucklandartgallery.com/explore-art-and-ideas/artwork/5554/justus-sustermans

Wikipedia, 'Anthony van Dyck', https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthony_van_Dyck

Dr Mark Stocker   Curator, Historical International Art   September 2018