Sir Anthony van Dyck 1599-1641

Half length, wearing a gold tunic with a white lace collar, and the star and sash of the Order of the Garter, as well as the order of the Lesser George set amongst rubies

Sir William Feilding, 1st Earl of Denbigh (1582-1643)

G. Gluck, Van Dyck, 1931, p.444;
Erik Larsen, L'Opera Completa di Van Dyck 1626-1641, 1980, p.116, no.844;
Erik Larsen, The Paintings of Anthony Van Dyck, Vol.II, 1988, p.367, no.939;
Susan J. Barnes, Nora de Poorter, Oliver Millar, Horst Vey, Van Dyck, A Complete Catalogue of the Paintings, 2004, p.571

The canvas has been cleaned and lined. There is some craquelure to the paint surface, which is characteristic for a painting of this age. Examination under ultraviolet light reveals a vertical strip of retouching along the right hand edge. There is evidence of some recent retouching to the sitter's face and hair. There is evidence of a passage of old repaint to the left hand margin, and in the background. There is evidence of some minor retouching around the inscription in the lower right hand corner. Held in a wood frame.
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The sitter was the son of Henry Herbert, 2nd Earl of Pembroke, and his third wife, Mary Herbert.  He was a court favourite of James I and, according to Clarendon, he had "the good fortune, by the comeliness of his person, his skill, and indefatigable industry in hunting, to be the first who drew the king's eyes towards him with affection" (Clarendon, Hist. Rebellion, 1.74). Such favouritism continued with the reign of Charles I and he carried the king's spurs at the coronation in 1625.  He served as Lord Chamberlain, but his star began to wane, and during the English Civil War he chose to play the part of a moderate parliamentarian.  In 1649, although he was appointed to the High Court of Justice to try the king, he refused.  He was held in sufficiently high regard by the Parliament that on his death in 1650 all members of Parliament were ordered to accompany his cortege on its way out of London.

The painting was owned by Sir William Feilding who fought at Edgehill in Prince Rupert's troop of horse.