A wonderfully detailed and charismatic portrait, this exquisite work illustrates the technical mastery and artistic vision of van Dyck. Breugel's stately, yet approachable expression reflects van Dyck's refined ability to comfort and relax his subjects, resulting in a realistic and acute portrait.

The plate has been marked in the lower left of the plate "Ant. Van Dyck fecit aqua forti." Beneath the engraved name is the inscription: ANTVERPIÆ PICTOR FLORVM ET RVRALIVM PROSPECTVVM with initials, G.H. in the bottom center for Gilles Hendricx. The work also features a partial watermark of the Fool's Cap with Five-Pointed collar, dating the work to the mid 1630s-1640s.

Also known as Jan Brueghel the Elder, Joannes was a Flemish painter known to excel in still lifes of several floral scenes and extremely detailed landscapes. Coming from a family of prolific artists, Joannes was the son of Pieter Brueghel the Elder and brother to Pieter Brueghel the Younger. The initials, 'G.H.' belong to publisher, Gillis Hendricx and was not included in Van Dyck's 'Iconographie' series. However, according to Frank Newbolt, this particular portrait "has had as great an influence on the art of etching as any example by Durer or Rembrandt. Its principal merit lies in the economy of line, and the perfection of the drawing. It is a superb demonstration of selective power" (19) .

Catalogue Raisonné & COA:
It is fully documented and referenced in (copies will be enclosed as added documentation with the invoices that I will enclose with the sale of the work) :

1) Newbolt, Frank. Etchings of Van Dyck, Ballantyne Press: London. Listed and illustrated as cat. no. 17 on pg. 19.

2) Hind, Arthur. Van Dyck: His Original Etchings and His Iconography, Houghton Mifflin: New York, 1915. Listed on pg. 101 as W. 1; D. 1 and illustrated on pg. 13.

3) Churchill, W.A. Watermarks in Paper, Amsterdam, 1935. Detailed on pgs. 80-1 and illustrated on pgs. 34-6.

4) Ash, Nancy & Shelley Fletcher. Watermarks in Rembrandt's Prints, Washington, D.C., 1998. Watermark detailed and illustrated on pgs. 97-110.

About the Framing:
Conservation framed with museum quality archival materials, this work is mounted in a Renaissance-style gold moulding whose intricately carved floral accents compliment van Dyck's engraved mastery. The refined gold leaf details with subtle hints of bronze highlight the shadows and remarkable details within this work. Completed with white, linen-wrapped mats and a matching gold inner fillet, this work is set behind an archival Plexiglas cover.