An incredible $7.25m sales result was achieved by Charles I's favourite artist, Sir Anthony Van Dyck, at the Sotheby's sale of Old Master Paintings in New York, on January 28.
Continuing the success of a Van Dyck self portrait sold for £8.33m last year, another Van Dyck work, Two Studies of a Bearded Man, brought a staggering $7,250,500.
The artwork is remarkable for showcasing a then-new technique, with which the young Van Dyck experimented, of painting study heads from a live model.
 Van Dyck's Two Studies of a Bearded Man (Click to enlarge) |
This work is so-titled "Two Studies..." for its two depictions of the same model on one canvas, each from slightly different angles.
In the end, the work's innovative content, combined with the remarkable calibre of its artist, saw the painting comfortably exceed its $5-7m estimate at Sotheby's last month.
A lesser Van Dyck, a portrait of Nicolas Rockox, also beat its guide price of $1m-1.5m to bring 1,538,500.
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