Lost and found: rediscover the last drawing for Van Dyck’s Iconographie in private hands

In a rare turn of events, a stunning drawing by 17th-century Flemish artist Anthony van Dyck has resurfaced, after centuries of being hidden from the public. A sensitive portrait of the Dutch engraver Willem Hondius, the Old Master’s work is rendered in chalk, wash, and ink.

On 1 February 2024, Christie’s will offer Portrait of Willem Hondius as part of Old Master & British Drawings in New York. This is the only drawing of Van Dyck in private hands — all of his other extant drawings from his Iconographie series are in museum collections.

Remarkably, while prints of this work existed, the drawing remained unseen by the public for centuries. According to Stijn Alsteens, International Head of Old Master Drawings at Christie’s, the drawing was initially acquired in the 18th century by a notable miniature artist in Paris — and the auction of his collection in 1779 included the drawing. At the sale, it was probably a Swedish collector who bought the portrait and it remained in the country ever since, where it was acquired by the father of the current owners. The drawing had fallen off scholars’ radar during this time — until a few months ago when the owner contacted Alsteens.

Van Dyck established his reputation in the 17th century as Europe’s foremost portraitist, and his distinctive style would go on to influence European and American portraiture into the 20th century until today. Van Dyck was renowned for his flattering and emotive representations of Europe’s most famous men and women. Portrait of Willem Hondius is a testament to his mastery of portraiture.

As the Baroque era dawned, greater levels of artistic freedom in portraiture followed suit. Artists began to be portrayed as sophisticated individuals of elevated rank rather than craftspeople. Van Dyck was known to imbue his subjects with a strong sense of character and refinement.

Although Hondius was an engraver, he exudes an air of nobility here through the subtle tilt of his head and courtly positioning of his hands at his stomach and behind his back. His gaze is alert yet nonchalant, suggesting a quiet confidence.

Van Dyck executed the drawing in an intuitive graphic style that displays his outstanding facility in mark-making. ‘There is real variation in technique, finish and the general appearance of the drawing,’ says Alsteens. ‘I thought it was almost breathtakingly beautiful and well preserved.’ While the initial drawing was completed in chalk, wash and brush, Van Dyck painstakingly retouched the surface in pen to add another layer of detail, as on the lace collar and jacket buttons. ‘It is’, Alsteens asserts, ‘among Van Dyck’s most finely executed drawings.’

Portrait of Willem Hondius was intended as a preparatory drawing for its subsequent print in the Iconographie, one of Van Dyck’s most ambitious projects. This series features the portraits of famed nobles, scholars and artists of the era. What makes the Iconographie significant is that Van Dyck himself conceived most of the designs specifically for the series.

The print of Willem Hondius is especially intriguing because the subject and the printmaker are the same: Hondius engraved his own portrait for the Iconographie. This element of self-portraiture adds a layer of connection between artist and sitter, charging the work with a great sense of intimacy.

As well as being exciting for scholars and lovers of Van Dyck’s work, the sale of Portrait of Willem Hondius represents a significant moment in Christie’s ongoing legacy with Van Dyck. In the past century, only three drawings for the Iconographie have been on the market, all of which have come to Christie’s.

Among these, one still holds the world auction record for a drawing by Van Dyck — a portrait of Van Dyck’s first teacher Hendrick van Balen, which sold to the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles in 1984 for £583,200 (equivalent to roughly $800,000 today). The second drawing, a portrait of Jacques Dubroeucq, was sold in 1970 and is now in the collection of the Morgan Library and Museum in New York.

Given the rarity and the condition of the drawing, Portrait of Willem Hondius is projected to break the previous Van Dyck record. After all, for scholars, collectors and art enthusiasts alike, Alsteens believes that this is ‘one of the most exciting discoveries of a Northern drawing in decades.