In SnijdersRockox House (room 7-8 Kitchen)

The style and technique of the glossy, brown background led to that colour being called Van Dyck brown.

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As an apprentice with a teacher, you ‘ll first learn how to mix colours, paint backgrounds and fill up large areas. But then the day comes: your first portrait. Perhaps you’ve already secretly put yourself in conterfeytsel (counter-feit, not to be taken literally): would you dare to put yourself on paper or on canvas? And today, how many times have you activated the selfie click?

In the painter’s trade, portrait painting was suitable for beginners. Small panels would suffice, and you didn’t need 256 colours. If the paint dried quickly enough, the customer could take it home almost immediately (that may be somewhat exaggerated).
The purpose of portrayal went from remembering a loved one, to presenting a saint as a role model: in both cases, it’s all about realism with probably a layer of idealization.

The real masters were able to include psychological profoundness: in the large scenes, with many faces, each with his own emotion: joy, sorrow and all in between. For the most important individual characters of the painting, more than one study was made, in drawing lines first, and then in paint, for the different shades of the skin.

Van Dyck made this oil sketch during his first Antwerp period, probably around 1618. It is the study of a man’s head and served as a model for various representations of Saint Jerome. A complete portrait could be seen in the Maagdenhuis/Maidens’ House, although that particular copy was probably made by a pupil.

With Van Dyck, portrait painting takes a big leap forward. In his Italian period (1621-1627), he had the opportunity to portray the aristocracy. And so he could depict rich fabrics, pearls and gold, as well as the brilliance of the eyes, also called the mirrors of the soul. But, in the Baroque, the brush strokes creating posture, hands and – especially – the face, offer a view into the person’s character: the outer as an image of the inner.

In England, Van Dyck sometimes completed two portraits a day. There is no doubt that he had a major influence on English portrait painting.

Such is the theatrical style of the Baroque: the staged portrait, with a background of a hanging curtain and a perspective view of landscapes and property; all this expresses nobility, if not self-righteousness.
More appealing to us are the seemingly simple images: the essence of a character on a plain brown background.

This kind of brown was known at the time as Cassel or Cologne earth[1]. But because of Van Dyck’s style and technique, it was being described as Van Dyck brown in the 18^th century. The beautiful shine was achieved by adding bitumen or tar to the paint. You can find the tube with that acrylic paint in the art shop opposite the Academy.

[1] Cassel Earth / Terre de Cassel , de Cologne