Virtuous Online Commenters Have Discovered an Authentic Work by Anthony van Dyck, Britain’s First Art Star, Hiding in Plain Sight

Online commenters are known for trolling. 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 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 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
too 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 in a statement. “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 Virtuous Online Commenters Have Discovered an
Authentic Work by Anthony van Dyck, Britain’s First Art Star,
Hiding in Plain Sight appeared first on artnet News.