Anthony van Dyck (1599–1641)
Portrait Study of Anna van Thielen and Her Daughter, Anna Maria Rombouts, ca. 1631–32
Black chalk, pen, and brown ink
12 1/2 × 10 5/16 in. (31.7 × 26.2 cm)
The Morgan Library & Museum, New York
This drawing prepared one of a pair of portraits of the Antwerp painter Theodoor Rombouts and his wife Anna van Thielen, who posed with their daughter, Anna Maria. The sitters belonged to the circle of Van Dyck’s colleagues and friends in Antwerp. Anna’s brother was a successful flower painter, as was her niece. The knee-length format is reminiscent of the traditional sixteenth-century portrait type that had remained popular in Antwerp. Anna’s expression, with its lifted eyebrow, makes for a forthright and engaging likeness.