Van Dyck in Sicily 1624-5 Painting and the Plague
Today James and I headed off on a short train ride from Victoria, to see what Van Dyck got up to when he spent a year in Sicily in 1624. This was under the guise of 'revision', despite our finals being months away. The truth of it was, we couldn't stand to write essays with such unexpectedly fine weather.
Dulwich Picture Gallery has gathered some thirteen or so fascinating Van Dyck’s into a collection from this short period of his production. The first room showed Van Dyck's prowess as portrait painter to the elite. The exquisite portrait of the (well named) Emmanuel Philibert of Savoy, Prince of Oneglia, shows the prince decked out in some seriously impressive armour, which is also on display. Two huge devotional paintings take up most of the next room, one a reclining John the Baptist, the other a colossal stoning of St. Stephen. These impressive works show the sheer star quality of Van Dyck. Their sophistication in form and movement speak of Rubens and Titian, but definitely bring something new of their own.
Whilst Van Dyck was in Palermo, the island was struck with an plague epidemic so bad that much of the population was decimated. Van Dyck’s response to this disaster was to paint several versions of St. Rosalia, who was seen as the intercessor for the plague victims. Her cult became enormously popular after her remains were supposedly discovered in a cave in 1624. Her reliquary is still annually paraded into the city to this day. Van Dyck transformed this 12th Century monk-recluse into a beautiful, angelic woman with flowing locks of golden hair. The city behind her appears dark and foreboding, but she brings hope through her devotion to God.
Overall the exhibition would be part of a great day out in sunny Dulwich, and is just a small part of an impressive collection of Old Masters that the gallery has collected.
The exhibition finishes on the 27th May 2012. Tickets cost £10 when brought in conjunction with an exhibition ticket for ‘Ragamala: Paintings from India’. £5 for students. www.dulwichpicturegallery.org.uk
Today James and I headed off on a short train ride from Victoria, to see what Van Dyck got up to when he spent a year in Sicily in 1624. This was under the guise of 'revision', despite our finals being months away. The truth of it was, we couldn't stand to write essays with such unexpectedly fine weather.
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| Van Dyck, 'Philibert of Savoy, Prince of Onegalia' 1624 |
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| Van Dyck's 'Saint Rosalie' 1624 |
Overall the exhibition would be part of a great day out in sunny Dulwich, and is just a small part of an impressive collection of Old Masters that the gallery has collected.
The exhibition finishes on the 27th May 2012. Tickets cost £10 when brought in conjunction with an exhibition ticket for ‘Ragamala: Paintings from India’. £5 for students. www.dulwichpicturegallery.org.uk
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