Antoine Triest, Bishop of Ghent
Portrait Miniature
1679 (painted)
1679 (painted)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Object Type
In England miniatures were usually portraits painted from life. But in the 1620s at the request of Charles I, the miniaturist Peter Oliver painted copies of oil paintings in the King's collection. Charles was a great connoisseur and this request reflects the value he placed on his collection and on the exquisite watercolour art of miniature painting. This established the tradition of copying great paintings in miniature.
People
Horace Walpole was a collecter, particularly of portraits. His collection of miniatures was in his own words 'the largest and finest in the country'. Although this miniature was sold at the sale held at Walpole's home in 1842, unfortunately it is not mentioned in Walpole's own catalogue in 1784, nor in the 1800 catalogue compiled after his death. So it is unclear if it actually belonged to Walpole.
Ownership & Use
Walpole's interest in this miniature would have been as much with the sitter as the artist. Antoine Triest was a notable collector and friend of artists such as van Dyck. Walpole avidly collected likenesses of the famous and often commissioned copies himself. In contrast, Charles Beale probably painted his copy in miniature of this famous image as a homage to the painterly skill of van Dyck. He probably copied an oil copy belonging to his father who referred in his diary to 'my bishops picture of Van Dykes'.
In England miniatures were usually portraits painted from life. But in the 1620s at the request of Charles I, the miniaturist Peter Oliver painted copies of oil paintings in the King's collection. Charles was a great connoisseur and this request reflects the value he placed on his collection and on the exquisite watercolour art of miniature painting. This established the tradition of copying great paintings in miniature.
People
Horace Walpole was a collecter, particularly of portraits. His collection of miniatures was in his own words 'the largest and finest in the country'. Although this miniature was sold at the sale held at Walpole's home in 1842, unfortunately it is not mentioned in Walpole's own catalogue in 1784, nor in the 1800 catalogue compiled after his death. So it is unclear if it actually belonged to Walpole.
Ownership & Use
Walpole's interest in this miniature would have been as much with the sitter as the artist. Antoine Triest was a notable collector and friend of artists such as van Dyck. Walpole avidly collected likenesses of the famous and often commissioned copies himself. In contrast, Charles Beale probably painted his copy in miniature of this famous image as a homage to the painterly skill of van Dyck. He probably copied an oil copy belonging to his father who referred in his diary to 'my bishops picture of Van Dykes'.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | Antoine Triest, Bishop of Ghent (generic title) |
| Materials and techniques | Watercolour on pasteboard |
| Brief description | Portrait miniature of Antoine Triest, Bishop of Ghent, watercolour on board, by Charles Beale the younger after Van Dyck, 1679. |
| Physical description | Portrait of a man, turned to left, looking to front and wearing a red cloak. Features in soft, very regular and distinct stipples of pale brown and sanguine blended with grey and blue, with gummy black in the eyes and nostrils and white in the eyes and facial hair on a pale creamy carnation ground; hair in pale brown wash modelled with dark grey and white; collar modelled in grey and brown over a pale grey wash, with some white heightening; cloak in a solid pink wash, modelled in darker colour and with the lights in white; background a solid brown wash floated horizontally; on pasteboard. Frame: Nineteenth-century rectangular copper-gilt rim, of shallow V-section: toothed copper strips to close back; of the type designed for a push-fit into a velvet-covered board. |
| Dimensions |
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| Content description | Portrait of a man wearing a red cloak, turned to left. |
| Styles | |
| Marks and inscriptions | 'CCB/1679' (Signed in gold, lower centre left) |
| Gallery label | British Galleries:
Walpole collected likenesses of famous individuals. 'The collection of miniatures and enamels is, I believe, the largest and finest in any country' wrote Walpole in his guide to Strawberry Hill.(27/03/2003) |
| Credit line | Bequeathed by the Reverend Alexander Dyce |
| Object history | Provenance: Putatively at Strawberry Hill (for that provenance see Cat. No. 148); sale 14 May 1842, 18th day, lot 156 (as Archbishop of Antwerp), bt Rodd, £ 1; acquired by the Revd Alexander Dyce, perhaps from Rodd or an intermediary, and by him bequeathed to the Museum, 1869. |
| Production | Signed and dated 1679 |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Summary | Object Type In England miniatures were usually portraits painted from life. But in the 1620s at the request of Charles I, the miniaturist Peter Oliver painted copies of oil paintings in the King's collection. Charles was a great connoisseur and this request reflects the value he placed on his collection and on the exquisite watercolour art of miniature painting. This established the tradition of copying great paintings in miniature. People Horace Walpole was a collecter, particularly of portraits. His collection of miniatures was in his own words 'the largest and finest in the country'. Although this miniature was sold at the sale held at Walpole's home in 1842, unfortunately it is not mentioned in Walpole's own catalogue in 1784, nor in the 1800 catalogue compiled after his death. So it is unclear if it actually belonged to Walpole. Ownership & Use Walpole's interest in this miniature would have been as much with the sitter as the artist. Antoine Triest was a notable collector and friend of artists such as van Dyck. Walpole avidly collected likenesses of the famous and often commissioned copies himself. In contrast, Charles Beale probably painted his copy in miniature of this famous image as a homage to the painterly skill of van Dyck. He probably copied an oil copy belonging to his father who referred in his diary to 'my bishops picture of Van Dykes'. |
| Bibliographic reference | Murdoch, John. Seventeenth- century English Miniatures in the Collection of the Victoria & Albert Museum. London: The Stationery Office in association with the Victoria & Albert Museum, 1997.
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| Collection | |
| Accession number | DYCE.132 |
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| Record created | March 27, 2003 |
| Record URL |
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