A portrait from the circle of Sir Anthony van Dyck, Britain's leading court painter, has sold well above expectations at Christie's Old Masters and British Paintings auction, which was held in London yesterday (April 11).
 Van Dyck's work influenced English portraiture for over a century |
The piece, a full-length portrait of a gentleman, sold for £181,875 ($278,633), making a considerable 809.3% increase on its £20,000 high estimate.
It was followed by a magnificent reproduction of Van Dyck's portrait of King Charles I with Monsieur de St Antoine, which sold for £97,875 - a 22.3% gain on its £80,000 high valuation.
 There are many copies of Sir Anthony Van Dyke's original, with this one at auction produced for Lord John Byron, uncle to the famous poet |
Sir Anthony Van Dyck was a Flemish artist who established himself as the leading court painter in England, most famous for his portraits of King Charles I. His magnificent skill in portraiture was widely imitated and remained highly influential in English portrait painting for over a century.
The second highest bids at Christie's were seen by a piece created after Sir Peter Paul Rubens, to whom Van Dyck served as chief assistant at the Antwerp Guild of Saint Luke. The piece, depicting Henry IV after the Battle of Ivry, is a recreation of the Rubens original in the Uffizi Gallery, Florence.
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