''Charles I in Three Positions'', also known as the ''Triple Portrait of Charles I'', is an oil painting of

Charles I of England Charles I (19 November 1600 – 30 January 1649) was King of Kingdom of England, England, Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland, and Kingdom of Ireland, Ireland from 27 March 1625 until Execution of Charles I, his execution in 1649. Charles was born ...

painted 1635–1636 by the Flemish artist Sir

Anthony van Dyck Sir Anthony van Dyck (; ; 22 March 1599 – 9 December 1641) was a Flemish Baroque painting, Flemish Baroque artist who became the leading court painter in England after success in the Spanish Netherlands and Italy. The seventh child of ...

, showing the king from three viewpoints: left full profile, face on, and right

three-quarter profile Portrait painting is a genre in painting, where the intent is to represent a specific human subject. The term 'portrait painting' can also describe the actual painted portrait. Portraitists may create their work by commission, for public and pri ...

. It is currently part of the

Royal Collection The Royal Collection of the British royal family is the largest private art collection in the world. Spread among 13 occupied and historic List of British royal residences, royal residences in the United Kingdom, the collection is owned by King ...

. The colours of the costumes and pattern of the lace collars are different in each portrait, though the blue

riband A ribbon or riband is a thin band of material, typically cloth but also plastic or sometimes metal, used primarily as decorative binding and tying. Cloth ribbons are made of natural materials such as silk, cotton, and jute and of synthetic mate ...

of the

Order of the Garter The Most Noble Order of the Garter is an order of chivalry founded by Edward III of England in 1348. The most senior order of knighthood in the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British honours system, it is outranked in ...

is present in all three. The painting was probably begun in the latter part of 1635 and was sent to Rome in 1636 to be used as a reference work for the Italian sculptor

Gian Lorenzo Bernini Gian Lorenzo (or Gianlorenzo) Bernini (, ; ; Italian Giovanni Lorenzo; 7 December 1598 – 28 November 1680) was an Italians, Italian sculptor and Italian architect, architect. While a major figure in the world of architecture, he was more prom ...

to create a marble bust of Charles I.

Pope Urban VIII Pope Urban VIII (; ; baptised 5 April 1568 – 29 July 1644), born Maffeo Vincenzo Barberini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 6 August 1623 to his death, in July 1644. As pope, he expanded the papal terri ...

sent the bust to Charles's queen

Henrietta Maria Henrietta Maria of France (French language, French: ''Henriette Marie''; 25 November 1609 – 10 September 1669) was List of English royal consorts, Queen of England, List of Scottish royal consorts, Scotland and Ireland from her marriage to K ...

in 1638 in the hope of encouraging a reconciliation of the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

with the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

. The bust was presented in 1637 and admired for its workmanship and likeness to the king. Charles rewarded Bernini with a valuable diamond ring. Queen Henrietta Maria commissioned Bernini to make a companion bust of her, but the

English Civil War The English Civil War or Great Rebellion was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Cavaliers, Royalists and Roundhead, Parliamentarians in the Kingdom of England from 1642 to 1651. Part of the wider 1639 to 1653 Wars of th ...

intervened and it was never made. The bust of Charles was sold at the end of the

but recovered for the Royal Collection on the Restoration, only to be destroyed by a fire in

Whitehall Palace The Palace of Whitehall – also spelled White Hall – at Westminster was the main residence of the English monarchs from 1530 until 1698, when most of its structures, with the notable exception of Inigo Jones's Banqueting House of 1622, ...

in January 1698. The painting remained in the possession of Bernini and his heirs in the Bernini Palace on the

Via del Corso The Via del Corso is a main street in the historical centre of Rome. It is straight in an area otherwise characterized by narrow meandering alleys and small piazzas. Considered a wide street in ancient times, the Corso is approximately 10 metres w ...

until 1802, when it was sold to British art dealer William Buchanan and returned to England. It was exhibited at the

British Gallery The British Institution (in full, the British Institution for Promoting the Fine Arts in the United Kingdom; founded 1805, disbanded 1867) was a private 19th-century society in London formed to exhibit the works of living and dead artists; it ...

in 1821. It was acquired for the Royal Collection in 1822. It is thought that the painting was influenced by

Lorenzo Lotto Lorenzo Lotto (c. 1480 – 1556/57) was an Italian Renaissance painter, draughtsman, and illustrator, traditionally placed in the Venetian school, though much of his career was spent in other north Italian cities. He painted mainly altarpie ...

's '' Triple Portrait of a Goldsmith'', 1530, then in the Royal Collection. In its turn, Van Dyck's portrait of Charles I may have influenced

Philippe de Champaigne Philippe de Champaigne (; 26 May 1602 – 12 August 1674) was a Duchy of Brabant, Brabant-born French people, French Baroque era painter, a major exponent of the French art, French school. He was a founding member of the Académie royale de pein ...

's '' Triple portrait of Cardinal de Richelieu'', 1642. Many copies of the work were made, possibly by supporters of the royal

House of Stuart The House of Stuart, originally spelled Stewart, also known as the Stuart dynasty, was a dynasty, royal house of Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland, Kingdom of England, England, Kingdom of Ireland, Ireland and later Kingdom of Great Britain, Great ...

, including one created around 1750 and now in the collection of the

Victoria and Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (abbreviated V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.8 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and named after Queen ...

in London. The

British Museum The British Museum is a Museum, public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human cu ...

has an engraving which was believed to depict the bust before it was destroyed, with baroque locks of flowing hair, fine lace collar, garter sash, possibly by Robert van Voerst, but now believed to show a bust by

François Dieussart François Dieussart (also Frans; Armentières, c. 1600 – London, 1661) was a Walloon sculptor who worked for court patrons in England, the Dutch Republic and northern Europe, producing portrait busts in the Italianate manner. Life and wor ...

. The painting currently hangs in the King's Drawing room at

Windsor Castle Windsor Castle is a List of British royal residences, royal residence at Windsor, Berkshire, Windsor in the English county of Berkshire, about west of central London. It is strongly associated with the Kingdom of England, English and succee ...

. File:Lorenzo Lotto - Three studies of a goldsmith from different angles.jpg, '' Triple Portrait of a Goldsmith'',

, ,

Kunsthistorisches Museum The Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien ( "Vienna Museum of art history, Art History", often referred to as the "Museum of Fine Arts, Vienna") is an art museum in Vienna, Austria. Housed in its festive palatial building on the Vienna Ring Road, i ...

, Vienna File:Triple Portrait of Cardinal de Richelieu probably 1642, Philippe de Champaigne.jpg, '' Triple Portrait of Cardinal de Richelieu'',

, ,

National Gallery The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London, England. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of more than 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The current di ...

, London

References

External links

Notes on Pictures in the Royal Collections – XIII. The Triple Portrait of Charles I by van Dyck, and the Bust by Bernini
Lionel Cust, ''The Burlington Magazine for Connoisseurs'', Vol. 14, No. 72 (Mar., 1909), pp. 337–341
Robert van Voerst, Portrait bust of Charles I, an engraving
British Museum Portraits by Anthony van Dyck Charles I of England in art 1636 paintings

Charles I Charles I may refer to: Kings and emperors * Charlemagne (742–814), numbered Charles I in the lists of Holy Roman Emperors and French kings * Charles I of Anjou (1226–1285), also king of Albania, Jerusalem, Naples and Sicily * Charles I of ...

Paintings in the Royal Collection of the United Kingdom Paintings in Windsor Castle Pope Urban VIII England–Holy See relations Oil on canvas paintings {{1630s-painting-stub

See also

References

External links