Sir Anthony van Dyck’s Charles I, King of England exists not as a single painted portrait but as a printed image—an etching and engraving—that circulated the king’s likeness across 17th-century Europe. The Harvard Art Museums version, a 17th-century impression, was produced by the Flemish printmaker Adriaen Lommelin after van Dyck, while a closely related state in the National Gallery of Art is attributed to Jonas Suyderhoff after Pieter Claesz Soutman, also after van Dyck ^[3][4]. This print belongs to the broader phenomenon of van Dyck’s Iconography series, a suite of portrait etchings of artists and famous contemporaries that he completed in the late 1620s and which helped disseminate his courtly style far beyond the canvas ^[1].

Provenance: the Randall bequest to Harvard

The Harvard Art Museums impression entered the collection through a familial chain of gift-giving. It was owned by John Witt Randall, who bequeathed it to his sister, Belinda Lull Randall; she in turn gifted it to Harvard University in 1892, where it now resides in the Fogg Museum ^[3]. This provenance traces a private 19th-century American collecting circle rather than a royal or aristocratic lineage, reflecting the print’s role as a portable, collectible object ^[3].

Technique: etching and engraving after van Dyck

The work is executed in etching and engraving, two intaglio techniques that van Dyck himself mastered and innovated ^[1][4]. In his Iconography project, van Dyck etched the heads of his subjects himself, often leaving the completion of plates to professional engravers—a division of labor that produced prints like this one, where the design derives from the master but the execution falls to specialists such as Lommelin or Suyderhoff ^[1][3][4]. The print medium allowed for the multiplication of the royal image, a key function in an era of political and dynastic messaging ^[1].

Iconography: the royal image in print

Although the painting Charles I in Three Positions (1635–1636) is among van Dyck’s most famous royal commissions, the print version at Harvard presents the king in a more conventional format—a bust or three-quarter portrait typical of the Iconography series ^[1][3]. The engraved portrait served to reinforce the king’s authority through controlled distribution, a practice van Dyck developed during his tenure as principal court painter to Charles I from 1632 ^[1]. The print’s existence also demonstrates how van Dyck’s Flemish training—he was a master in the Guild of Saint Luke of Antwerp in 1617 and had worked in the studio of Peter Paul Rubens—shaped his approach to reproductive printmaking ^[1].

Attribution and dating debate

The Harvard catalogue credits the print to both Adriaen Lommelin and Anthony van Dyck, dating it to the 17th century without a precise year ^[3]. The National Gallery of Art, however, attributes its version to Jonas Suyderhoff after Pieter Claesz Soutman, after van Dyck, with a date of approximately 1650—nearly a decade after van Dyck’s death in 1641 ^[4]. This discrepancy reflects the collaborative and posthumous nature of print production: multiple engravers worked from van Dyck’s designs, and plates were reissued or copied after his death ^[1][4]. The exact relationship between the Harvard and NGA impressions—whether they derive from the same plate or different states—remains unresolved in the available sources ^[3][4].

Van Dyck’s court career and the Iconography series

Van Dyck, born in Antwerp in 1599, became the leading court painter in England after success in the Spanish Netherlands and Italy ^[1]. His Iconography series, completed in the late 1620s, was a pioneering project in portrait printmaking, depicting mainly artists and famous contemporaries ^[1]. The Harvard Charles I, King of England print extends this project into the royal sphere, showing how van Dyck’s printmaking practice complemented his painted commissions ^[1][3]. The print also reflects his broader influence: after his return to London in 1632, he transformed English portraiture, and his printed portraits helped spread that style across Europe ^[1].

Frequently asked questions

Who engraved the Harvard version of Charles I, King of England?

The Harvard Art Museums credit the print to Adriaen Lommelin and Anthony van Dyck, indicating that Lommelin executed the engraving after van Dyck’s design ^[3].

Is this print part of van Dyck’s Iconography series?

Yes. Van Dyck completed his Iconography series of portrait etchings in the late 1620s, and this royal portrait follows the same format and purpose of that series ^[1][3].

When was the Harvard impression created?

The Harvard catalogue dates the work to the 17th century without specifying a year; a related impression at the National Gallery of Art is dated to approximately 1650 ^[3][4].