* Sir Anthony van Dyck and Studio Antwerp 1599 - 1641 London

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Description

Anthony van Dyck
The Incredulity of St. Thomas
oil on canvas

Provenance

Sir Thomas Sebright, Bt., Beechwood Park, Dunstable, by 1857, thence by descent to
Sir Giles Sebright, Bt.
By whom sold, London, Christie's, July 2, 1937, lot 137 (as "Sir A. van Dyck");
Anonymous sale, London, Christie's, March 23, 1956, lot 106, to Wells

Literature

Waagen, Treasures of Art in Great Britain, vol. IV, London 1857, p. 327;
S. J. Barnes et al, Van Dyck, A Complete Catalogue of the Paintings, New Haven 2004, p. 166, under cat. no. II.20 (as a copy of the Hermitage painting)

Catalogue Note

The present work repeats in composition, with slight differences, a work by van Dyck in The State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg. Since the publication of the van Dyck Catalogue of Paintings (see Literature below), Susan J. Barnes has seen the present painting firsthand and believes it to be by van Dyck with Studio assistance.

The painting is in an impressive carved and gilt frame by Fratelli Pacetti, Florence (a label is affixed to the reverse). The Pacetti were famous framemakers and specialized in elaborately carved and gilt frames such as the present example, which derives its decoration from the Baptistry doors of Florence. Their clients included some of the most important collectors of the day, including Anatole Demidoff (Ary Scheffer, Portrait of Princess Mathilde, Palazzo Pitti, Florence).