As I told you last week, I was in The Prado, Madrid to see the Velazquez´s among others. I had a break to see some Spanish impressionist´s in between. At the end of my visit I was exhausted. All these beautiful paintings can drive you crazy in the end. Leaving the museum I came across this portrait of Anthony van Dyck: Man with a lute. My tiredness disappeared as if by magic, believe me or not. An overwhelming experience. What a straightforward power of values and pattern! Now, at home writing this post I leafed through the book Classical Painting Atelier by Juliette Aristides. And she describes exactly the same sensation at the end of a visit at the National Portrait Gallery in London. The secret is is in the simple strength of values.
Be sure to see the entire painting in high resolution at the beautiful Prado´s website.
I made two copies in photoshop. The left one to show the basic composition and the other a display of the chiaroscuro. Both of serene simplicity and power.
