A Puritan sailor of fortune, the second earl of Warwick promoted the colonization of Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island, and seized Spanish ships on behalf of the duke of Savoy and Charles I of England. Among the privateer ships he sponsored was the White Lion, which brought the first enslaved Africans to the British colony of Virginia in 1619. Despite allusions to his maritime career in the discarded armor and ships in the background, Warwick wears the flamboyant dress of a landed aristocrat, reflecting the image of himself he wished to promote.
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Fig. 1. Painting in frame: overall
Fig. 2. Painting in frame: corner
Fig. 3. Painting in frame: angled corner
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Fig. 4. Profile drawing of frame. W 8 5/8 in. 22.1 cm (T. Newbery)
Artwork Details
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Title:Robert Rich (1587–1658), Second Earl of Warwick
Artist:Anthony van Dyck (Flemish, Antwerp 1599–1641 London)
Date:ca. 1632–35
Medium:Oil on canvas
Dimensions:81 7/8 x 50 3/8 in. (208 x 128 cm), with added strip of 2 1/8 in. (5.4 cm) at top
Classification:Paintings
Credit Line:The Jules Bache Collection, 1949
Object Number:49.7.26
Colonizer, revolutionary, and privateer, Warwick succeeded to his father's title in 1619. After attending Cambridge University in 1603 and serving as M.P. for Malden in 1610 and 1614, he became a sailor of fortune, establishing companies in Virginia and the West Indies. He helped to colonize Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island, and was commissioned in 1616 by the Duke of Savoy to sail to the East Indies as a privateer. In 1627 he was commissioned by Charles I to pillage Spanish ships, but failed to intercept the Brazilian fleet. From 1642 Warwick served as commander of the navy for Parliament, and during the 1640s he also served as head of a commission appointed by Parliament to govern the New England colonies. Despite his zealous support of Parliament he could not approve the abolition of the monarchy, and consequently was relieved of public service during the Commonwealth.
The picture is difficult to date on the basis of style or the sitter's age. The composition appears most consistent with Van Dyck's portraits of 1632–35. Warwick's service at sea is indicated by the armor and commander's baton at his feet, and by the naval battle in the background, which probably alludes to Warwick's maritime adventures in general.
For more information, see Emily Casey, “Visual Culture of the Atlantic World,” on the Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, April 2018.
[2019; adapted from Liedtke 1984]
Inscription: Inscribed (lower left): Robert Rich 2[nd] Earle / Warwick Uncle [to] Lady Mary / Countess Breadalbane.
John Campbell, 4th Earl and 1st Marquess of Breadalbane, Taymouth Castle, Aberfeldy, Perthshire (by 1828–d. 1834); his son, John Campbell, 2nd Marquess and 5th Earl of Breadalbane, Taymouth Castle (1834–d. 1862); his sister, Lady Elizabeth Pringle (1862–d. 1878); her daughter, the Hon. Mrs. Robert Baillie-Hamilton, Langton, Duns, near Berwick, Scotland (1878–d. 1912); her sister, Magdalen, Lady Bateson Harvey (1912–d. 1913); the great-nephew by marriage of Sir Robert Bateson Harvey, the Hon. Thomas George Breadalbane Morgan-Grenville-Gavin, Langton, Duns (1913–25; sale, Christie's, London, July 6, 1917, no. 68, for £6,300, bought in by Holland); [Duveen, London and New York, 1925; sold for $275,000 to Bache]; Jules S. Bache, New York (1925–d. 1944; his estate, 1944–49; cats., 1929, unnumbered; 1937, no. 27; 1943, no. 26)
London. Royal Academy of Arts. "Winter Exhibition," 1877, no. 209 (as "Portrait of Charles Rich, Earl of Warwick," lent by Lady Elizabeth Pringle).
London. Royal Academy of Arts. "Winter Exhibition," January–March 1893, no. 126 (as "Portrait of Charles Rich, Earl of Warwick," lent by the Hon. Mrs. Baillie Hamilton).
Detroit Institute of Arts. "The Second Loan Exhibition of Old Masters: British Paintings of the Late Eighteenth and Early Nineteenth Centuries," January 18–31, 1926, no. 50 (lent by Mr. Jules S. Bache, New York).
Detroit Institute of Arts. "Eighth Loan Exhibition of Old Masters, Paintings by Anthony van Dyck," April 3–20, 1929, no. 41 (lent by Jules S. Bache).
New York. World's Fair. "Masterpieces of Art: European Paintings and Sculpture from 1300–1800," May–October 1939, no. 106 (lent by the Jules S. Bache Collection).
London. Tate Gallery. "The Age of Charles I: Painting in England, 1620–1649," November 15, 1972–January 14, 1973, no. 99.
Washington. National Gallery of Art. "Anthony van Dyck," November 11, 1990–February 24, 1991, no. 68.
Antwerp. Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten. "Van Dyck 1599–1641," May 15–August 15, 1999, no. 72.
London. Royal Academy of Arts. "Van Dyck 1599–1641," September 11–December 10, 1999, no. 72.
Horace Walpole. Anecdotes of Painting in England. London, 1828, vol. 2, p. 221, as at Taymouth Castle.
Percy Rendell Head. Van Dyck. London, 1879, p. 80, identifies the sitter as Charles Rich.
Lionel Cust. Anthony van Dyck, An Historical Study of His Life and Works. London, 1900, p. 285.
Wilhelm R. Valentiner inThe Second Loan Exhibition of Old Masters: British Paintings of the Late Eighteenth and Early Nineteenth Centuries. Exh. cat., Detroit Institute of Arts. Detroit, 1926, unpaginated.
"Van Dyck's Portrait of Sir Robert Rich Is Bought by Bache: Colorful Painting of Early 17th Century Is Added to Banker's Collection at a Cost Exceeding $100,000." New York Herald Tribune (May 22, 1927), p. 18.
Edouard Brandus. "La collection des tableaux anciens de M. Jules S. Bache, à New-York." La Renaissance 11 (May 1928), pp. 194–96, ill. p. 187.
"Jules S. Bache Acquires Four Famous Paintings: $1,000,000 Believed Paid For Work of 15th Century." New York Herald Tribune (May 30, 1928), p. 30.
Walter Heil. "The Jules Bache Collection." Art News 27 (April 27, 1929), p. 4, ill. p. 32, dates it about 1635.
A Catalogue of Paintings in the Collection of Jules S. Bache. New York, 1929, unpaginated, ill.
Esther Singleton. Old World Masters in New World Collections. New York, 1929, pp. 187–91, ill.
Wilhelm R. Valentiner. A Loan Exhibition of Fifty Paintings by Van Dyck. Exh. cat., Detroit Institute of Arts. Detroit, 1929, unpaginated, no. 41, ill., dates it 1632–33.
Royal Cortissoz. "The Jules S. Bache Collection." American Magazine of Art 21 (May 1930), p. 258.
Gustav Glück. Van Dyck, des Meisters Gemälde. 2nd ed. [1st ed. 1909]. Stuttgart, 1931, pp. XLIV, 562, ill. p. 395.
"Art Treasures Will Be Shown to Help Needy: Duveen, Bache, and Stephen Clarke to Display Famous Paintings at Their Homes." New York Herald Tribune (March 26, 1933), p. 20.
A Catalogue of Paintings in the Bache Collection. under revision. New York, 1937, unpaginated, no. 27, ill.
"Bache Donates His Art to Public for a Museum: Home at 814 Fifth Ave. to House $20,000,000 Collection; Donor Sails Before Gift Is Revealed." New York Herald Tribune (April 29, 1937), pp. 1, 13, ill. p. 12, erroneously as by Hals in the text but as by van Dyck in the image caption.
Royal Cortissoz. "Prehistoric Art and Other Topics." New York Herald Tribune (May 2, 1937), p. F8.
"Bache Art Goes on View Today in His Home Just as He Hung It." New York Herald Tribune (November 16, 1937), ill. p. 3 (installation shot, Bache townhouse Dutch room).
Royal Cortissoz. "The Great Masters in the Bache Collection." New York Herald Tribune (November 21, 1937), p. E9, describes it as "a perfect illustration of his courtly manner".
Duveen Pictures in Public Collections of America. New York, 1941, unpaginated, no. 188, ill., dates it about 1632–35.
Regina Shoolman and Charles E. Slatkin. The Enjoyment of Art in America. Philadelphia, 1942, p. 403, pl. 376.
Harry B. Wehle. "The Bache Collection on Loan." Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin 1 (June 1943), p. 288.
Walter Heil. "The Bache Paintings at the Metropolitan." Art News 42 (June–July 1943), pp. 20, 22–24, ill., dates it during Van Dyck's last stay in England, toward 1635.
A Catalogue of Paintings in the Bache Collection. rev. ed. New York, 1943, unpaginated, no. 26, ill.
Margaret Breuning. "Metropolitan Re-Installs Its Treasures in Attractive Settings." Art Digest 18 (June 1, 1944), p. 6.
An American Correspondent. "English Portraits in the Jules Bache Collection." Connoisseur 113 (March 1944), pp. 51–52, ill.
Albert C. Bates. "The Earl of Warwick." Wadsworth Atheneum News Bulletin, n.s., 2 (February 1944), unpaginated, as a version of the painting in Hartford.
"Jules S. Bache." New York Herald Tribune (March 25, 1944), p. 10.
Leo van Puyvelde. "Van Dyck's Style during his English Period (II)." Phoebus 1, nos. 3/4 (1946), p. 145.
Millia Davenport. The Book of Costume. New York, 1948, vol. 2, p. 574, no. 1510, ill. p. 575 (cropped).
"Title to Bache Art Collection Passes to Metropolitan Museum: Some of World's Best-Known Masterpieces Hang in Group Shown as a Loan Since 1944." New York Herald Tribune (April 25, 1949), p. 3.
Leo van Puyvelde. Van Dyck. Brussels, 1950, pp. 74, 89, 169.
Josephine L. Allen and Elizabeth E. Gardner. A Concise Catalogue of the European Paintings in The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York, 1954, p. 32.
Margaret Whinney and Oliver Millar. English Art, 1625-1714. Oxford, 1957, p. 71, pl. 15.
David Piper. Van Dyck. New York, 1968, ill. on cover (color detail) and colorpl. 26.
Oliver Millar. The Age of Charles I: Painting in England, 1620–1649. Exh. cat., Tate Gallery. London, 1972, pp. 71–72, no. 99, ill.
V. Denis. La peinture flamande 15e–16e–17e siècles. Brussels, 1976, fig. 58.
Joseph Burke. English Art 1714–1800. Oxford, 1976, p. 204.
Egbert Haverkamp-Begemann, ed. Wadsworth Atheneum Paintings. Catalogue 1, The Netherlands and the German-speaking Countries: Fifteenth–Nineteenth Centuries. Hartford, 1978, pp. 133–34, under no. 43.
Erik Larsen. L'opera completa di Van Dyck. Milan, 1980, vol. 2, p. 122, no. 910, ill. p. 121, dates it about 1637–38.
Edgar Peters Bowron. Pompeo Batoni (1708–87) and His British Patrons. Exh. cat., Iveagh Bequest, Kenwood. London, 1982, p. 12.
Christopher Brown. Van Dyck. Ithaca, N.Y., 1982, pp. 203, 206, pl. 209.
Oliver Millar. Van Dyck in England. Exh. cat., National Portrait Gallery. London, 1982, p. 24, fig. 22.
Walter A. Liedtke. Flemish Paintings in The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York, 1984, vol. 1, pp. 72–74; vol. 2, pl. 30, finds the composition most consistent with Van Dyck's portraits of about 1632–35; doubts Millar's suggestion [see Ref. 1972] that the background alludes to Warwick's attempted attack on the Brazilian fleet in 1627, as it is unlikely he would have wanted to commemorate a failed mission in which he was nearly captured.
Walter A. Liedtke. "Anthony van Dyck." Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin 42 (Winter 1984/85), pp. 6, 24, 37–38, 41–42, figs. 2, 38, 40 (color, overall and details).
Aileen Ribeiro. The Dress Worn At Masquerades in England, 1730 to 1790, and Its Relation to Fancy Dress in Portraiture. PhD diss., Courtauld Institute of Art, London. New York, 1984, p. 207.
Walter A. Liedtke. "Flemish Paintings in the Metropolitan Museum—II: Van Dyck, Jordaens, Brouwer, and Others." Tableau 6 (February 15, 1984), pp. 29, 31.
Colin Simpson. Artful Partners: Bernard Berenson and Joseph Duveen. New York, 1986, pp. 204–5, 298 [British ed., "The Partnership: The Secret Association of Bernard Berenson and Joseph Duveen," London, 1987].
Erik Larsen. The Paintings of Anthony van Dyck. Freren, Germany, 1988, vol. 1, pp. 321, 398 n. 541, fig. 327; vol. 2, p. 402, no. 1028.
Arthur K. Wheelock Jr. inAnthony van Dyck. Exh. cat., National Gallery of Art. Washington, 1990, pp. 266–68, no. 68, ill. (color), dates it 1634.
Jean L. Druesedow in "Recent Acquisitions, A Selection: 1989–1990." Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin 48 (Fall 1990), p. 56.
Michael Jaffé. "Washington: Van Dyck at the National Gallery of Art." Burlington Magazine 133 (February 1991), pp. 142, 144.
Introduction by Walter A. Liedtke inFlemish Paintings in America: A Survey of Early Netherlandish and Flemish Paintings in the Public Collections of North America. Antwerp, 1992, pp. 26, 331, no. 208, ill.
David Piper. The English Face. Ed. Malcolm Rogers. [rev., enl. ed.]. London, 1992, p. 75, pl. 73.
Alfred Moir. Anthony van Dyck. New York, 1994, pp. 35, 41, 112–13, colorpl. 33.
Arline Meyer. "Re-dressing Classical Statuary: The Eighteenth-Century 'Hand-in-Waistcoat' Portrait." Art Bulletin 77 (March 1995), p. 53, fig. 15.
Katharine Baetjer. European Paintings in The Metropolitan Museum of Art by Artists Born Before 1865: A Summary Catalogue. New York, 1995, p. 287, ill. p. 288.
David Howarth. Images of Rule: Art and Politics in the English Renaissance, 1485–1649. Berkeley, 1997, pp. 230–32, ill.
Judy Egerton in Christopher Brown and Hans Vlieghe. Van Dyck 1599–1641. Exh. cat., Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten, Antwerp. London, 1999, pp. 260–61, no. 72, ill. (color), dates it about 1634.
Malcolm Rogers in Christopher Brown and Hans Vlieghe. Van Dyck 1599–1641. Exh. cat., Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten, Antwerp. London, 1999, p. 89.
Jeremy Wood. "Van Dyck: A Catholic Artist in Protestant England, and the Notes on Painting Compiled by Francis Russell, 4th Earl of Bedford." Van Dyck 1599–1999: Conjectures and Refutations. Ed. Hans Vlieghe. Turnhout, Belgium, 2001, p. 180, fig. 13.
Meryle Secrest. Duveen: A Life in Art. New York, 2004, p. 430.
Wayne Franits. Dutch Seventeenth-Century Genre Painting: Its Stylistic and Thematic Evolution. New Haven, 2004, p. 41, fig. 31, dates it about 1632–35, and erroneously calls the sitter Richard Rich.
Richard Ormond inRule Britannia! Art, Royalty & Power in the Age of Jamestown. Exh. cat., Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. Richmond, 2007, p. 15, fig. 5 (color).
Edgar Peters Bowron and Peter Björn Kerber. Pompeo Batoni: Prince of Painters in Eighteenth-Century Rome. Exh. cat., Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. New Haven, 2007, pp. 55, 188 n. 100, refers to Batoni's full-length portrait of Thomas William Coke, later 1st Earl of Leicester (Earl of Leicester and the Trustees of the Holkham Estate, Norfolk), as an "ardent emulation" of portraits by Van Dyck such as this one.
Tim Batchelor inVan Dyck & Britain. Ed. Karen Hearn. Exh. cat., Tate Britain. London, 2009, pp. 85, 94–95, 124, 167, 242, no. 35, ill. (color), dates it about 1633.
Kevin Sharpe inVan Dyck & Britain. Ed. Karen Hearn. Exh. cat., Tate Britain. London, 2009, p. 22.
Susan Sloman inVan Dyck & Britain. Ed. Karen Hearn. Exh. cat., Tate Britain. London, 2009, p. 226.
Susan North inVan Dyck & Britain. Ed. Karen Hearn. Exh. cat., Tate Britain. London, 2009, pp. 126–27.
Anne Hilker. "The Art of Rivalry: The Jules S. Bache Collection, Its Formation, and Its Donation to The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1919–44." Journal of the History of Collections (2024), pp. 320, 333 n. 14.
The frame is from Paris and dates to about 1920 (see figs. 1–4 above). This grand Régence style frame is made in the traditional manner with oak at the back frame and limewood on the upper frame and is constructed with mitred corners secured with tapered keys. The sight edge ornament of straight cabled flutes is followed by a fillet and cavetto before the elaborately ornamented scotia carved with strapwork and pearled cabochon. Rocaille cartouches centered with leafy cabochon and flanked with acanthus scrolls adorn the corners. Asymmetrical cartouches with palm fronds, feathered wings, and floral sprays are centered at the sides. A pierced rocaille crest with palm fronds and floral sprays at the top is balanced by a rocaille cartouche with leafy cabochon at the base. The outer hollow sweeps out to the cabochon chain ornamented back edge. The gesso surface is skillfully recut and water gilded overall on ochre and red bole. This tour de force of ornament may be derived from South German design. Virtually identical frames appear on the full-length Van Dyck portrait of Queen Henrietta Maria with Sir Jeffrey Hudson in the National Gallery of Art, Washington, as well as the portrait of Mountjoy Blount, Earl of Newport, in the Yale Center for British Art, New Haven, Connecticut.
Timothy Newbery with Cynthia Moyer 2017; further information on this frame can be found in the Department of European Paintings files
Anthony van Dyck (Flemish, Antwerp 1599–1641 London)
early 17th century
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