Sir Anthony van Dyck | Family Portrait, 1621

"Family Portrait" is an 1621 painting by Sir Anthony van Dyck (1599-1641), a Flemish Baroque artist.

The identity of the family is not known. Earlier the painting was supposed to be the family portrait of the painter Frans Snyders.

Sir Anthony van Dyck studied under Peter Paul Rubens and was one of his most accomplished students. Van Dyck's career flourished and he went on to become England's leading court painter.

Using his own compositional techniques, van Dyck was soon ranked alongside Titian in terms of style and the relaxed elegance of his portraits helped shape English portraiture for almost two centuries.

Anthony van Dyck was particularly well-known for redefining the iconographical style as well as his fresh approach to new color schemes.

As well as portraits van Dyck also painted biblical and mythological subjects and was an accomplished etcher and engraver in his own right.

He would often sketch his works as practise before executing the final version onto canvas.

His etchings in particular show his great ability to define light and shadow contrasts and his dexterity in creating fine lines and detail to ensure a realistic rendering of the sitter.