SIR ANTHONY VAN DYCK (1599-1641) FRANZ SNYDERS Canvas, 50 inches by 37 inches THE portrait of Franz Synders the painter; three-quarter view, the head leaning a little on one side, in a lace ruff and black silk dress, his hands resting on a chair. The background a landscape. To the knees. 4 ft. 2 in. high, 3 ft. 1 in. wide. This picture was painted in the Netherlands, shortly before Van Dyck came to England. The noble conception, with which a slight trace of melancholy is blended, the admirable drawing (for instance, the foreshortened ear), the masterly modelling, the gradation in a warm clear, yellowish tone, nearly akin to that of Rubens, and the simplicity of the forms, render this not only one of the very finest portraits by Van Dyck, but entitle it to rank with the most celebrated portraits by Raphael, Titian or Holbein." Quoted from Waagen's "Art Treasures of Great Britain," III, 319. Frans Snyders, born in Antwerp, 1579, painted animals and hunting scenes with surprising fire and spirit. The talents of Synders excited the admiration of Rubens, who frequently in-trusted him to print the animals, fruit, etc. in his pictures. For the Archduke Albert he painted some of his finest works, particularly a stag hunt, which was sent by the Archduke to Philip III. of Spain, who commissioned Snyders to paint several large hunting pictures and combats of wild beast, which are still in the old palace of Buen-Ritiro. His pictures are to be found in all the chief public galleries of Europe. He was Van Dyck's intimate friend, and was painted by him a number of times, notably in the Cassel Gallery with his wife, and in the family group with his wife and children at the Hermitage, Petrograd. The present portrait was formerly in the collections of the Duc d'Oreleans and of the Earl of Carlisle. It was etched by Van Dyck himself. 55 GN