Auction Dates: Session 1: Wed, 08 Jul 09 7:00 PM
LOT 11
THE PROPERTY OF A NOBLEMAN
SIR ANTHONY VAN DYCK
ANTWERP 1599 - 1641 LONDON
PORTRAIT OF ENDYMION PORTER (1587-1649)
1,000,000—1,500,000 GBP
MEASUREMENTS
114.5 by 94 cm., 45 by 37 in.
DESCRIPTION
half length, wearing a red silk doublet and cloak
oil on canvas
PROVENANCE
Philip Yorke, 3rd Earl of Hardwicke (1757-1834), Wimpole Hall by 1798;
by descent to his daughter Anne, wife of John Savile, 3rd Earl of Mexborough (1783-1860);
thence by descent
EXHIBITED
London, British Institution, 1829, no. 133;
London, British Institution, 1864, no 49;
London, Grosvenor Gallery, Exhibition of the Works of Sir Anthony van Dyck, 1887, no. 31;
York, City Art Gallery, on loan 1950-2009;
London, Tate Britain, Van Dyck and Britain, 2009, no. 15
LITERATURE AND REFERENCES
J. Smith, A Catalogue Raisonne of the Works of the Most Eminent Dutch, Flemish and French Painters, 1831, no. 616;
L. Cust, Anthony van Dyck; An Historical Study of His Life and Works, 1900, p. 281, nos. 161 & 162;
J.M.J., 'Endymion Porter', Preview. City of York Art Gallery, January 1954, no. 25, pp. 266-7;
G. Huxley, Endymion Porter; The Life of a Courtier 1587-1649, 1959, p.158;
E. Larsen, The Paintings of Anthony van Dyck, 2 vols., 1988, no. A263;
S. Barnes et al., Van Dyck; a Complete Catalogue of the Paintings, 2004, no. III.119, p.343 (illus.);
E. Honig, 'Van Dyck and Britain', in The Burlington Magazine, Vol. CLI, no. 1274, May 2009, pp.327-329, illus. fig. 48
CATALOGUE NOTE
"Tho' obscure, yet he was a great man and beloved of two kings, James I for his amiable wit and Charles I (to whom he was a servant) for his general learning, brave stile, sweet temper, great experience, travels and modern languages". Anthony Wood (1632-1695)
The present painting is a portrait of the artist's close friend and confidante Endymion Porter, diplomat, connoisseur, and courtier to Charles I. 'One of the most cultivated men of the early Stuart court.' [i] Endymion had been born in 1587 at Mickleton in Gloucestershire, the eldest son of Edmund Porter (d.1623) and his wife Angela. They were a prosperous family of the minor gentry, with strong Spanish links through Endymion's grandfather Giles Porter, who had gone to Castile in the 1560's where he had married Dona Juana de Fiueroa y Mont Salve. In 1605, the young Endymion travelled to Spain when his grandfather returned as a translator with the Earl of Nottingham on a special envoy to the Spanish Court. At Valladolid he secured a position in the service of the Conde de Olivares's under the patronage of his grandmother's aristocratic relations. This early service was to have a lasting and important impact on the young man's future career for it brought him into contact with Don Gaspar de Guzmán, the Conde's heir and later de-facto ruler of Spain under Phillip IV, to whom Endymion was assigned as tutor and became a life long friend.
Endymion's civility, erudition, geniality, and most importantly his intimate knowledge of Spain and its politics, culture and language (a rare commodity among young English gentlemen in the early 17th century) endeared him to the Prince of Wales, whose service he entered in 1621. At the time James I was making Charles learn Spanish and it may well be that he chose Endymion as tutor for the young prince. At court Endymion's services for Charles largely centred on his Spanish correspondence, particularly in regard to his dealing with the Spanish over a possible marriage alliance between the Prince and the Infanta Isabella, and in the acquisition of pictures. As one of the Grooms of the Bedchamber to the young prince, Endymion was the only member of Charles's domestic retinue to be entrusted with foreign affairs, or to be engaged with the acquisition of works of art. In February 1623 he was one of the two aides, along with Francis Cottington, who accompanied the Prince and Buckingham on their clandestine and ultimately futile mission to Madrid to secure the Infanta's hand in marriage, an occasion which presented both men with the opportunity to indulge their mutually absorbing passion in the arts. Endymion had become intimately familiar with the wonders of the Spanish royal picture collection almost twenty years previously, while in the service of the Olivares, and with his Endymion as guide Charles was now himself exposed for the first time to the assembled masterpieces of the Renaissance at the Spanish Court. The experience was one that would have a deep psychological impact on the future King's own self image, defining his vision of kingship, and thus directly influencing the imagery and symbolism of his own court. It also confirmed his early affection for the Venetian School, particularly a life long devotion to the work of Titian.
In Madrid Charles and Endymion attended meetings of connoisseurs, as well as picture sales, where several works were purchased, including at least two Titians. Cottington's account book for 14th July records a payment "by Mr. Porter's order, being for a picture which was bought for the Prince's account", as well as an entry for further pictures "signified unto me by Mr. Porter" [ii]. On leaving Madrid, among other gifts, Philip IV presented Charles with Titian's Venus of the Prado and Giambologna's statue of Cain and Abel, before spending two days at the Escorial, where Cottington recorded in his account book for 8th September "paid unto a painter for drawing the Prince's picture, signified by Mr. Porter from the Prince": a reference to an untraced sketch of Charles by Diego Velasquez [iii].
Endymion and van Dyck first met on the artist's initial visit to England between 1620 and 1621, while Endymion was in the service of George Villiers, Duke of Buckingham. During this trip to England van Dyck is known to have worked for both the King and the Earl of Arundel, and, although no portrait of Buckingham survives from this period, there is an entry in the Villiers' accounts for the end of 1620 which records a payment made by Porter on the Duke's behalf 'given to van Dyke the picture drawer'. Sadly the paper is torn and no further details of the commission survive, though it has been plausibly suggested that the payment refers to a painting entitled The Continence of Scipio (now at Christ Church College, Oxford) on the basis that a painting on this subject by van Dyck was listed in an inventory of Buckingham's collection at York House in 1635. The details of the commission may never be confirmed, but suggest the first encounter between artist and courtier, from which would develop a profound and lasting friendship, one which would help shape the very image of the Caroline Court.
This painting represents the first in a series of portraits of the sitter by van Dyck and was probably commissioned in Antwerp in 1628. In August of that year Endymion travelled to Madrid, via The Hague and Brussels, on another of his many diplomatic missions for Charles I. Crossing the Channel with his brother Thomas, a captain in the Navy, and the picture dealer Balthasar Gerbier, he stopped in Antwerp where he paid a visit to van Dyck's studio, ostensibly to commission a painting of Rinaldo and Armida (Baltimore Museum of Art) on behalf of Charles I. Letters from Endymion's agent in Antwerp, Mr Perry, to Captain Thomas Porter attest to the fact that both he and Endymion commissioned works from van Dyck for themselves as well, and it can reasonably be assumed that this refers to the present portrait [iv]. The date of his sitting must have been some time in late August for, at the beginning of September, Endymion started out for Madrid, joining up with Rubens at Basel, who was also bound for Spain on diplomatic business.
One of the earliest of van Dyck's portraits of Englishmen, the painting is emblematic of the introduction of a progressively more engaging and psycho-analytical style of portraiture than had been previously practiced in England, one that emphatically reveals the sitter's personality and sophistication. The artist portrays his friend and patron in a striking, yet intimate and refined pose. His rich satin doublet and great cloak, with its soft muted folds, are those of an elegant and dashing courtier, whilst at the same time his expression bespeaks wisdom, intellect and charm. Breaking with the traditions of Tudor portraiture, which had previously governed the pictorial rhetoric of English painting, Van Dyck presents us with a man of character and personality. Endymion is portrayed clearly, conscious of his status and adornment, but not defined by them. With one hand resting on his hip and the other ambiguously pointing out of the composition, he stands before us, confident and reposed. Van Dyck's relationship with Endymion would later be given striking visual expression in 1633 when the artist portrayed himself alongside the courtier in a double portrait (Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid), in which the intimacy of their friendship is highlighted by their presence side-by-side (see fig. 1). Endymion was the only Englishman to receive such an honour.
In 1632, four years after the execution of the present painting and twelve years after his first visit, Van Dyck returned to England. There can be little doubt that Endymion was one of the key figures in persuading him to come back. Knighted by Charles I and given a pension of £200 per annum, the artist was given lodgings at Blackfriars, close to the Porter family home, where he lived almost continuously as Painter in Ordinary to the King until 1640. In 1619 Endymion had married Olivia Boteler, Buckingham's niece, thus strengthening his ties at court. The relationship appears to have been one of devoted adoration, and Endymion's many letters to Olivia, written during the endless periods of separation, whilst travelling on court duties, attest to the strength of his love and devotion. In Blackfriars the two families became close, and though it would be courteous to disregard contemporary rumour which suggested van Dyck shared his mistress with Endymion, especially in light of the latter's apparent devotion to his family, the story nevertheless illustrates the intimacy of their relationship, an affiliation with is given further weight by van Dyck's many tender and informal depictions of the Porter family (fig. 2).
Van Dyck's return to England can now be seen with the benefit of hindsight as the beginning of a revolution in English art. No doubt with Endymion's encouragement, Charles recognised this dynamic artist as very much as a modern Titian. Inspired by his experience in Madrid, he perceived in van Dyck the opportunity to create for himself what the Venetian master had achieved for the Hapsburgs over a century before. With Endymion as agent and intermediary, both artist and monarch set about developing a new vision of monarchy, distinct from previous incarnations. Between 1632 and 1634 van Dyck's brush gave visual expression to Charles's ideology of absolute monarch and divine rule. He created an iconography for the Stuart dynasty, and its attendant court, like nothing that had been seen in England before. In addition Charles acquired works by the great masters of European art at a prodigious rate, and by the time of his death the English Royal Collection was one of the most magnificent in history. At the heart of this cultural metamorphosis was the King's picture agent; Endymion Porter.
"Let there be Patrons; Patrons like Thee
Brave Porter! Poets neer will wanting be." Robert Herrick (1591-1674)
i. Barnes et al., lit.op.cit, p. 433
ii. Huxley, lit.op.cit., p. 97
iii. Huxley, lit.op.cit., p. 111
iv. Calendar State Papers Domestic, 1629/31, p. 216
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