The reputation of Van Dyck, great as it was prior to leaving Antwerp,
had materially grown during his absence in Italy. From time to time
reports reached his fellow-townsmen of the brilliant success he was
achieving there, the high personages with whom he was mingling, and the
flattering praise accorded to his productions. We may be sure that
returning travellers would relate the astonishing progress he was
making, and consequently his friends would await with eager
anticipation the proofs of all they had heard. There could be no doubt
that Rubens would be amongst those who would be most interested in his
progress, and he would be curious to see the influence the Italians had
exercised upon his technique.
His talents were soon put to the essay in the form of a commission for
a large picture representing St. Augustine in ecstasy, surrounded by
angels and saints, for the Church of the Augustines in Antwerp. As a
result of this first effort, both his patrons and the public were
delighted, and commissions for works of a similar character flowed in
upon him from every side.
Rubens had fairly early in his career instituted an ingenious method
for making his works widely known. He employed, under his own
direction, a number of engravers whose names have become household
words. Technically considered, they were as well equipped as any who
have ever lived. The names of Paul Pontius, Lucas Vorsterman, the two
Bolswerts, Peter de Jode are held in reverence by every admirer of
engraving. Their remarkable fidelity in transcribing the works of
Rubens render it frequently unnecessary to see the originals themselves
in order thoroughly to study them. I am perhaps not going too far when
I say that they understood the art of translating colour effects into
black and white in a manner unknown previous to their time and never
surpassed afterwards. The tone values of the paintings themselves are
preserved. There is no doubt that this excellence was due to the
guidance of Rubens. He superintended each plate in process of
preparation and rectified with his own hand any errors that might have
crept in. In this way Rubens rendered an immense service to art.
Quantities of these prints went out to foreign countries and were
prized by both artists and collectors, serving to stimulate the former
to renewed efforts and to improve the taste of the latter. At the same
time, he is to be credited with having brought the engraving art to a
pitch which has never been surpassed.
When Rubens saw of what his pupil was now capable, he immediately
turned the attention of his engravers to his works, and until Van Dyck
practically ceased historical painting, we have as many plates worked
after his designs as from those of his master. It was soon after his
return to Antwerp that he received the commission to paint the
celebrated picture at Malines representing the Crucifixion. Of this
remarkable canvas we can but form an inadequate idea to-day. The
exceeding negligence with which it has been kept, coupled with the
continual covering up of the picture, thus depriving it of light, which
every oil-painting requires for its preservation, has contributed to
render it a wreck of its former self. The subject, to which we are so
accustomed that we are but little moved when we encounter it in the
great galleries, is here presented to us in a most terrible and
essentially human aspect. The extraordinary expression of physical
pain infused into the heads of the two thieves, one on each side of
Christ, together with the energy of their efforts to detach themselves
from their awful position, will cause a shudder to creep over even the
most phlegmatic person. This is foiled by the superb treatment of the
head of the Saviour. In the latter is an extraordinary mixture of
pain, mental and physical, combined with a sublime look of resignation.
Sir Joshua Reynolds regarded it as one of the masterpieces of the
world, and there will be not a few who will concur in his judgment.
Van Dyck was not, however, content simply to exercise his powers in
this way. An innumerable series of portraits date from this time,
notably the well-known series representing the most prominent
contemporary artists of Flanders. These productions are well known
from the engravings executed after them; the originals are now
distributed throughout the world.
It is said that Van Dyck's position in the Netherlands, in spite of the
quantity of patronage bestowed upon him, was anything but pleasant.
The jealousy of his rivals was particularly irksome to a man of his
disposition. In the intrigues with which he was surrounded Rubens had
no part; on the contrary, he always sustained the cause of his
brilliant pupil with the utmost enthusiasm and fidelity, and it is
probable, in view of this fact and the renown which Van Dyck himself
had attained, that he would have worn down the opposition and caused
the calumnies with which he was beset to fall upon the heads of their
originators. But the taste for travel which he had developed in Italy
probably impelled him to seek relief outside his own country.
Accordingly we find him employed at the Hague--certainly not a great
distance from the seat of his recent troubles, but sufficiently far to
remove him from their reach. Here he painted the portrait of the
Prince of Orange and innumerable personages of his Court, in addition
to receiving ample encouragement from the foreign ambassadors.
It was not, however, to be expected that so small a city with its
limited scope would long suffice for a man of his ambitions. His eyes
were set upon England.
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