Untitled (copy after Anthony van Dyck portrait of Frans Snyders and his wife)

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 It only became superseded in the mid-19th century with the advent of photography.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'.

The famous Flemish artist of hunting, game, animals and still life, Frans Snyders (1579-1657), was one of the original 18 etchings undertaken by van Dyck. By the time of the fifth state (there were seven in all), Jacques/Jacobus Neeffs had reworked it into a finished engraving. With the completion of the body and the addition of a pillar on the left, Snyders' head loses its power. It is out of proportion with the rest of the figure, weakening the composition as a whole. 

Needless to say, New Zealand artist and longtime director of the National Art Gallery, Stewart Maclennan (1903-73), far preferred the vignetted first state of the etching, which excels in the qualities admired by Hind and others. In addition, and specifically influencing this print as we read from its inscription, was van Dyck's famous double portrait painting of Snyders and his wife (1621; Museumslandschaft Hessen, Kassel). Te Papa is fortunate to have not only the impression but, remarkably, the original copper printing plate for it, made by Maclennan (1978-0045-2). In some ways it compares with Maclennan's contemporary, Roland Hipkins's remarkably fine copy, Self portrait by Rembrandt (1983-0007-18).

See:

Fitzwilliam Museum, 'Frans Snyders...', https://www.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/gallery/vandyck/biographies/franssnyders2.html

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

Dr Mark Stocker   Curator, Historical International Art   September 2018