Portrait of the Count de Feria

Anthony Van Dyck

Summary

A reproduction produced by the Vasari Society of a drawing by Antony Van Dyck. The drawing shows a portrait of a man from the waist upwards. The man is turned towards the left to give a three-quarters view of his face. He is wearing contemporary dress and there is a sash across his chest wish suggests military clothing. Text from the accompanying booklet produced by the Vasari Society: "No. 19 ANTONY VAN DYCK (b. 1599; d. 1641) PORTRAIT OF DON EMMANUEL FROCAS PERERA ET PIMENTEL COUNT DE FERIA Collection of the Duke of Devonshire, Chatsworth (from the Collection of N. A. Flinck). Black chalk. 22.7 x 17.3 cm. (8 1/2 x 6 3/4 in.) The original drawing for the plate engraved by Paul Pontius (Wibiral 47). A comparison of the two versions well exemplifies Van Dyck's method of procedure in his Iconography. The engraving gives the portrait in reverse, elaborates the figure, clothes it in full armour, and places a baton in the hand. Besides these variations in detail, the character of the portrait has considerably changed in the process, much of the fullness and bonhomie of the face having disappeared. The transformation is more easily understood if one remembers that grisaille by some assistant of the master generally formed the intermediary between the original study in chalk and the engraved plate. A. M. H."