Portrait of Antonio de Tassis 

Anthony van Dyck painted this portrait of Antonio de Tassis with oil on canvas. Look closely and you’ll see that Van Dyck was particularly attuned to the sheen of fabric and the textures of skin. It’s easy to take this for granted, but consider the craft tradition in which he was working. To be a successful portraitist required years of practice in grinding pigments, preparing canvases, and developing an intimate understanding of how to build up an image, layer by layer, from dark underpainting to luminous highlights. Van Dyck was also deeply aware of the social implications of materials. The dark, costly fabrics worn by his sitter, Antonio de Tassis, were signs of status. Tassis’s wealth is further signaled by the very fact of his commissioning the painting, and his composed, knowing demeanor. This wasn't just painting; it was the careful construction of a persona, entirely dependent on the skillful manipulation of matter. So when you look at this picture, remember, you are seeing the result of both manual labor and social labor, intertwined.