Art Institute of Chicago

Title Page from the "Iconography"

Jacob Neeffs (Flemish, 1610-c. 1660)

Date

1645

Medium

Etching and engraving in black on ivory laid paper

Culture

Flanders

Department

Prints and Drawings

Institution

Art Institute of Chicago

The painter Anthony van Dyck etched only the head of most of his portraits, leaving the background to other artists. Jacques Neeffs expanded this print with engraved lines, transforming Van Dyck’s abbreviated self-portrait into a sculptural bust atop a robust column. Finished posthumously, long after Van Dyck’s appointment as court painter to Charles I of England, the resulting print reinforces Van Dyck’s fame, serving as it does as the title page to his Iconography , a series of portraits of artists and other celebrated contemporary figures. His original self-portrait head, itself iconic, would become a milestone in the history of artist self-portraits.

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