Overview
In this tender image of a mother and daughter, Anthony van Dyck has conveyed the full extent of his artistic abilities. Even in a formal portrait like this one, he has ably captured the warmth, love, and reassurance of the parent-child relationship through gaze, gesture, and even bearing. The woman is almost certainly Susanna Fourment, identified by a drawing of Van Dyck's one-time mentor and frequent collaborator Peter Paul Rubens, and her only daughter, Clara. Rubens was married to Susanna's sister-in-law Isabella Brant, and it was probably through Rubens that Van Dyck received the commission for this portrait.
With its combination of informality and grandeur, as well as the extraordinary naturalism of the figures' expressions and gestures, the painting bears close stylistic associations with Van Dyck's other work of around 1621. He had returned to his hometown of Antwerp from England in March of that year, but left again the following October to go to Italy. Unfortunately, nothing is known about the 17th-century provenance of Susanna Fourment and Her Daughter. Although it can be assumed that the large-scale portrait was painted for Susanna's home, most likely intended for the voorkamer (front room), there are no references to the painting until 1762. When Andrew Mellon purchased the work in 1930, the painting had been attributed to Rubens, owing to its close stylistic relationship with the master's work. However, by 1941 it had been given to Van Dyck, and it has never been questioned since.
Provenance
Probably Anna Theresia van Halen; (her sale, Antwerp, 19 August 1749, no. 1); Gaillard de Gagny (receiver of finances), Grenoble;[1] (his estate sale, Pierre Remy, Paris, 29 March 1762, no. 9); purchased by Jean-Henri Eberts for Markgräfin Karoline Luise von Baden [1723-1783];[2] (her sale, Amsterdam, 6 March 1769, no. 3); Etienne-François, duc de Choiseul [1719-1785], Paris and Château de Canteloup, Touraine; (his sale, at his residence, Paris, 6-10 April 1772, no. 1); purchased through (Augustin Ménageot, Paris) by Prince Alexander M. Golitzyn for Catherine II, empress of Russia [1729-1796], for the Imperial Hermitage Gallery, Saint Petersburg;[3] purchased March 1930, as a painting by Peter Paul Rubens, through (Matthiesen Gallery, Berlin; P. & D. Colnaghi & Co., London; and M. Knoedler & Co., New York) by Andrew W. Mellon, Pittsburgh and Washington, D.C.; deeded 30 March 1932 to The A.W. Mellon Educational and Charitable Trust, Pittsburgh;[4] gift 1937 to NGA.
Associated Names
Baden, Karoline Luise von MarkgräfinCatherine II of Russia
Choiseul, Etienne-François, duc de
Colnaghi & Co., Ltd., P. & D.
Eberts, Jean-Henri
Gaillard de Gagny
Golitzyn, Alexander Mikhailovich
Halen, Anna Theresia van
Knoedler & Company, M.
Mellon Educational and Charitable Trust, The A.W.
Mellon, Andrew W.
Remy, Pierre
Sale, Amsterdam
Sale, Antwerp
Sale, Paris
State Hermitage Museum
The Matthiesen Gallery
Exhibition History
- 1990
- Anthony van Dyck, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1990-1991, no. 21, color repro.
- 2012
- The Young Van Dyck, Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid, 2012-2013, no. 89, repro.
Bibliography
- n.d.
- Schröder, Klaus Albrecht and Heinz Widauer, eds. Peter Paul Rubens. Exh. cat. Albertina, Vienna, 2004: 344, fig. 1, repro.
- 1762
- Rémy, Pierre. Catalogue raisonné des tableaux, porcelaines, bijoux et autre effects du Cabinet de Feu M. Gaillard de Gagny. Paris, 1762: 6-7, no. 9.
- 1771
- Basan, Pierre François. Recueil d'Estampes Gravés d'après les tableaux du cabinet Monseigneur le Duc de Choisel. Paris, 1771:8, repro. pl. 83.
- 1772
- Boileau, J.F. Catalogue des tableaux qui composent le cabinet de Monseignor le Duc de Choiseul. Paris, 1772:3, no. 1.
- 1773
- Imperial Hermitage Museum [probably Ernst von Münnich, ed.] "Catalogue raisonné des tableaux qui se trouvent dans les Galeries, Sallons et Cabinets du Palais Impérial de S. Pétersbourg, commencé en 1773 et continué jusqu’en 1785.” 3 vols. Manuscript, Fund 1, Opis’ VI-A, delo 85, Hermitage Archives, Saint Petersburg,1773-1783 (vols. 1-2), 1785 (vol. 3).
- 1774
- Imperial Hermitage Museum [probably Ernst von Münnich, ed.]. Catalogue des tableaux qui se trouvent dans les Cabinets du Palais Impérial à Saint-Pétersbourg. Based on the 1773 manuscript catalogue. Saint Petersburg, 1774: no. 904, as Portrait d'une Dame et de son fils.
- 1863
- Köhne, Baron Bernhard de. Ermitage Impérial, Catalogue de la Galérie des Tableaux. Saint Petersburg, 1863: 139, no. 635.
- 1864
- Viardot, Louis. Le Musée de l'Ermitage à Saint-Pétersbourg et son nouveau catalogue. Paris, 1864:318
- 1864
- Waagen, Gustav Friedrich. Die Gemäldesammlung in der kaiserlichen Ermitage zu St. Petersburg nebst Bemerkungen über andere dortige Kunstsammlungen. Munich, 1864: 149, no. 635.
- 1870
- Köhne, Baron Bernhard de. Ermitage Impérial: Catalogue de la Galérie des Tableaux. 3 vols. 2nd ed. Saint Petersburg, 1870: 2:79-80, no. 635.
- 1879
- Ris, Comte Louis Clément de. "Musée Impérial de l'Ermitage à Saint-Pétersbourg (third of 4 articles)." Gazette des Beaux-Arts 19 (June1879): 580-581, as Dame et sa fille.
- 1882
- Guiffrey, Jules. Antoine van Dyck - sa vie et son oeuvre. Paris, 1882: 287, no. 1095.
- 1886
- Rooses, Max. "Oeuvre de Rubens. Addenda et Corrigenda." Rubens-Bulletijn 4 (1896):284, 286, as Rubens.
- 1890
- Rooses, Max. L'Oeuvre de P.P. Rubens: histoire et description de ses tabelaux et dessins. 5 vols. Antwerp, 1886-1892: 4(1890):181-182, no. 952, as Rubens.
- 1895
- Somov, Andrei Ivanovich. Ermitage Impérial: Catalogue de la Galérie des Tableaux. 2 vols. 3rd ed. Saint Petersburg, 1895: 74-75, no. 635.
- 1898
- Stevenson, R.A.M. Peter Paul Rubens. London, 1898: 57.
- 1898
- Tourneux, Maurice. "Diderot et le musée de l'Ermitage." Gazette des Beaux-arts19 (1898): 342.
- 1899
- Phillips, Claude. "The Van Dyck Exhibition at Antwerp." The Nineteenth Century 46 (November 1899): 743.
- 1900
- Cust, Lionel. Anthony van Dyck - An Historical Study of His Life and Works. London, 1900:17, 234, no. 22.
- 1900
- Phillips, Claude. "The Imperial Gallery of the Hermitage--III." The North American Review 170 (January 1900):136-137.
- 1900
- Rooses, Max. Fifty Masterpieces of Anthony van Dyck. Trans. Fanny Knowles. London, 1900: 6, as Rubens.
- 1901
- Somov, Andre Ivanovich. Ermitage Impérial. Catalogue de la Galérie des Tableaux. 2 vols. 4th ed. Saint Petersburg, 1901: 2:366-367, no. 635.
- 1902
- Rooses, Max. "Die vlämischen und niederländischen Meister in der Ermitage zu St. Petersburg [1]." Zeitschrift für bildende Kunst 13 (1902):46, as Rubens.
- 1903
- Cust, Lionel. Van Dyck. 2 vols. New York, 1903: 1:13-14
- 1903
- Rooses, Max. Rubens'leven en werken. Amsterdam and Antwerp, 1903:547, as Rubens.
- 1904
- Rooses, Max. Rubens. 2 vols. Philadelphia, 1904:I:303, as Rubens.
- 1904
- Stokes, Hugh. Sir Anthony van Dyck. London and New York, 1904: xlvi.
- 1905
- Rosenerg, Adolf. P.P. Rubens, des Meisters Gemälde in 551 Abbildungen. Stuttgart and Leipzig, 1905: 481, no. 317, repro., as Rubens.
- 1906
- Bode, Wilhelm von. Rembrandt und Seine Zeitgenossen.... Leipzig, 1906: 268.
- 1909
- Bode, Wilhelm von. Great Masters of Dutch and Flemish Painting. Translated by Margaret L. Clarke. London, 1909: 311-312.
- 1909
- Dillon, Edward. Rubens. London, 1909: 161, 206 no. 35, repro. as "possibly Vandyke."
- 1909
- Schaeffer, Emil. Van Dyck: des Meisters Gemälde. Klassiker der Kunst in Gesamtausgaben. Stuttgart, 1909: 155, 525, 544, repro.
- 1909
- Wrangell, Baron Nicolas. Les Chefs-d'Oeuvre de la Galérie de Tableaux de l'Hermitage Impérial à St-Pétersbourg. London, 1909: xii, as Rubens.
- 1920
- Glück, Gustav. "Rubens' Liebesgarten." Jb Wien 35 (1920-1921): 91, 93-94, repro.
- 1929
- Burchard, Ludwig. "Genuesische Frauenbildnisse von Rubens." Jahrbuch der preussischen Kunstsammlungen 50 (1929): 336.
- 1931
- Glück, Gustav. Van Dyck: des Meisters Gemälde. Klassiker der Kunst in Gesamtausgaben 13. Revised 2nd ed. New York and Stuttgart, 1931: 111, 531, 584, repro.
- 1933
- Glück, Gustav. Rubens, Van Dyck und ihr Kreis. Vienna, 1933: 144, 145, 165, 389-390, repro.
- 1937
- Cortissoz, Royal. An Introduction to the Mellon Collection. Boston, 1937: 6, 37, as Rubens.
- 1937
- Jewell, Edward Alden. "Mellon's Gift." Magazine of Art 30, no. 2 (February 1937): 82 (as by Rubens).
- 1940
- McBride, Ruth Q. "Old Masters in a New National Gallery." The National Geographic Magazine 78 (1 July 1940): 8, as Rubens.
- 1941
- De Tolnay, Charles. "Flemish Paintings in the National Gallery of Art." Magazine of Art 34 (April 1941): 193, 195, repro.
- 1941
- Preliminary Catalogue of Paintings and Sculpture. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1941: 203-204, no. 48.
- 1942
- Book of Illustrations. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1942: 240, repro. 40.
- 1949
- Paintings and Sculpture from the Mellon Collection. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1949 (reprinted 1953 and 1958): 69, repro.
- 1963
- Walker, John. National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. New York, 1963 (reprinted 1964 in French, German, and Spanish): 310, repro.
- 1965
- Summary Catalogue of European Paintings and Sculpture. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1965: 46.
- 1968
- European Paintings and Sculpture, Illustrations. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1968: 39, repro.
- 1975
- European Paintings: An Illustrated Summary Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1975: 118, repro.
- 1976
- Hoet, Gerard. Catalogus of naamlyst van schilderyen. 3 vols. Reprint of 1752 ed. with supplement by Pieter Terwesten, 1770. Soest, 1976: 2:256, no. 1.
- 1978
- King, Marian. Adventures in Art: National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. New York, 1978: 46-47, pl. 25.
- 1978
- Lauts, Jan. "Einiges über Markgräfin Karoline Luise von Baden als Gemäldesammlerin." Jahrbuch der Staatlichen Kunstsammlungen in Baden-Württemberg 15 (1978): 49, 53-56, repro.
- 1980
- Larsen, Erik. L’opera completa di Van Dyck. 2 vols. Classici dell'arte 102-103. Milan, 1980: 2: 46, no. 82, repro.
- 1984
- Walker, John. National Gallery of Art, Washington. Rev. ed. New York, 1984: 259, no. 328, color repro.
- 1985
- European Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1985: 143, repro.
- 1986
- Barnes, Susan J. "Van Dyck in Italy 1621-1628." 2 vols. Ph.D. dissertation, Institute of Fine Arts, New York University, 1986: 1: 75 note 37, 79, 122; 2: no. 100, repro.
- 1990
- Wheelock, Arthur K., Jr., and Susan J. Barnes. Anthony van Dyck,. Exh. cat. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1990: 135-137, no. 21, repro.
- 1991
- Jaffé, Michael. "Exhibition Reviews: Van Dyck at the National Gallery of Art." The Burlington Magazine 133 (February 1991): 143, no. 21.
- 1991
- Kopper, Philip. America's National Gallery of Art: A Gift to the Nation. New York, 1991: 91, 97, color repro.
- 1992
- Bauman, Guy C., and Walter A. Liedtke. Flemish Paintings in America: A Survey of Early Netherlandish and Fleming Paintings in the Public Collections of America. Antwerp, 1992: 334, repro.
- 1992
- Lawrence, Cynthia. "The Epitaph of Arnoluds Lunden, Jr.: Notes on a Monument from Rubens' Circle." Jaarboek van het Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten Antwerpen (1992): 71, 72, repro.
- 1994
- Lawrence, Cynthia. "Clara de Moy or Clara de Monte?: A Note on the Lind Translation of the Vita Petri Pauli Rubenii." Source: Notes in the History of Art 13, no. 2 (Winter 1994): 31, 32, repro.
- 1994
- Moir, Alfred. Anthony van Dyck. New York, 1994: 64-65, repro.
- 1996
- Gritsai, Natalia. Anthony Van Dyck. Bournemouth and Saint Petersburg, 1996: 15, repro.
- 1998
- Willk-Brocard, Nicole. “Augustin Ménageot (ca. 1700-1784), Marchand de Tableaux. Quelques Jalons.” Gazette des Beaux-Arts 131 (1998): 166-167, repro.
- 1999
- Brown, Chistopher, Hans Vlieghe, et al. Van Dyck 1599-1641. Exh. cat. Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten, Antwerp; Royal Academy of Arts, London. Antwerp and London, 1999: 119.
- 2004
- Barnes, Susan J. Van Dyck: A Complete Catalogue of the Paintings. New Haven, 2004: I.103
- 2005
- Fahy, Everett, ed. The Wrightsman Pictures. New Haven, 2005: 116, under cat. 33, fig. 3.
- 2005
- Wheelock, Arthur K., Jr. Flemish Paintings of the Seventeenth Century. The Collections of the National Gallery of Art Systematic Catalogue. Washington, D.C., 2005: 30-35, color repro.
- 2009
- Odom, Anne, and Wendy R. Salmond, eds. Treasures into Tractors: The Selling of Russia's Cultural Heritage, 1918-1938. Washington, D.C., 2009:
- 2011
- Fiedler, Susanne, and Torsten Knuth. "Vexierbilder einer Biographie: Dr. Heinz Mansfeld (1899-1959)." Mecklenburgische Jahrbücher 126 (2011):307.
- 2016
- Jaques, Susan. The Empress of Art: Catherine the Great and the Transformation of Russia. New York, 2016: 398.
