Drawing of the three eldest Children of Charles I

English School Late Seventeenth Century

Red Chalk on Paper

11 ¼ x 12 ½ inches; 28.6 x 31.8 cm

Provenance:

With Knoedler & Co., New York, as Van Dyck; The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, USA; Until deaccessioned in 2007.

Van Dyck’s portrait of the three eldest children of Charles I became one of the most iconic pictures of the seventeenth century, particularly amongst Royalist supporters. Here, Charles II is seen on the left, with James II in the centre, next to Mary, the Princess Royal. They are flanked by a pair of eponymous King Charles spaniels. The sitters are given an appropriately adult stance and demeanour, while retaining their youthful charm and sensitivity. The original version first hung at Somerset House and has been dated from between the end of November 1635 and March 1636. It now hangs at Windsor Castle.

There was great demand for replicas of Van Dyck’s royal portraits both during and after the Civil War. They became symbols of political affiliation to the Royalist cause, and after the Restoration could be displayed as symbols of loyalty for Charles II. The present drawing provides a rare glimpse into this process. Here, a finely observed recreation of Van Dyck’s original has been drawn in red chalk, by a later seventeenth century artist most likely working before the exile of James II in 1688. The paper has been marked out in squares, thus allowing the artist to accurately transfer the work onto a larger canvas.

It is interesting to note that the expression of James II, in the centre, has become slightly altered from the anxious child shown by Van Dyck, to a more composed, generally happier boy. This could be an attempt to reflect the political circumstances of the later seventeenth century; the touching pose of Charles II and James II would have had a powerful dynastic resonance at the time of James’ period as heir presumptive and eventual succession in 1685, but making him appear nervous and reliant on his brother, as Van Dyck does, might not have been politique.

Fortunately, we know the early history of Van Dycks’ original work in some detail, and can speculate on the likely origins of this drawing. It would certainly have been done in England. After Charles I’s execution, the picture was sold in the royal collection sale in 1651, and later belonged to the artist Sir Peter Lely, who in turn returned the picture to Charles II in 1660. It is likely, therefore, that the artist for this picture was among Lely’s circle. Mary Beale was a pupil of Lely’s and it is worth noting that her son, Charles Beale the younger, is known to have made drawings after Van Dyck’s original picture, with six studies of the heads and hands surviving in the British Museum.