Thanks to Online ‘Art Detectives,’ an Original Painting By van Dyck Has Been Uncovered, Hiding in Plain Sight

Online commenters are better known for trolling than
art-historical sleuthing. But one squad of internet sleuths have
banded together for good—and now, they have confirmed that a
17th-century portrait at the Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool, which
had long been attributed to the studio of Flemish Baroque artist
Anthony van Dyck, was in fact a bona fide original by the artist
himself, who has been dubbed Britain’s first art star.

The true author of the image of Infanta Isabella Clara
Eugenia, a member of the Spanish royal family, was discovered by
the public online forum Art Detective, which was set up by the
charity Art UK in 2014. The digital platform seeks to promote
debate and crack open important questions on art within the UK’s
public collections—including mysteries. The public is welcome to
submit questions, cases, and opinions.

“This Van Dyck discovery is an especially important one and
unequivocally proves the value of this innovative use of digital
technology to share and grow knowledge,” Andrew Ellis, Art UK’s
director, told
the Guardian. This marks the first major
discovery from the free-to-use online forum’s hive mind, which
considers input from “art detectives” including museum staff, art
history scholars, and amateur enthusiasts.

A discussion around the painting, which dates to between 1566
and 1633, had slowly been developing on the forum since it was
first added to the site with a question mark on its attribution
last year. The work had been given to the Liverpool’s Walker
Art Gallery in 1954 by the Royal Insurance Company and it was
generally thought by experts and the museum to be from the artist’s
studio. It is now the Walker Art Gallery’s sole work by the hand of
the artist himself.

Observers initially noted the quality of the painting appeared
to high to have been done by assistants. As the conversation
evolved, art restorer Simon Gillespie and art historian Bendor
Grosvenor chimed in. (“On to the next!” Grosvenor wrote on the
forum after the mystery had been solved.) The debate culminated in
a visit to the Walker by Susan J Barnes, a leading authority on Van
Dyck and author of his catalogue raisonné. She gave it her
stamp of authenticity.

“Well preserved, it is notably fine in the rendering of the
figure in the interior,” Barnes said. “Most important is the
compelling likeness: Van Dyck’s depiction of the Archduchess
conveys at once the presence of a living human being and of an
imposing person, a commanding, international leader.”

The post Thanks to Online ‘Art Detectives,’ an Original
Painting By van Dyck Has Been Uncovered, Hiding in Plain Sight
appeared first on artnet News.