Diego Felipe de Guzmán, Marquis of Leganés|Anthony van Dyck |Search Collection

Updated 17 April 2025

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On Display

Permanent collection

Anthony van Dyck

Antwerp, 1599 - London, 1641

Diego Felipe de Guzmán, Marquis of Leganés

Date	c. 1634
Materials and Techniques	oil on canvas
Size（cm）	210 x 119
Inscriptions	Inscribed lower right, inventry number of the Leganés collection: 457
Credit Line	Purchased
Category	Paintings
Collection Number	P.1987-0002

This well-built figure wrapped in black robes and standing in a darkened interior is Diego Felipe de Guzmán, 1st Marquis of Leganés, who was active as a soldier and diplomat during the reign of Philip IV. The marquis was famous for his numerous acts of valor, and in addition, was known as a collector of art. While his collection included works by such representative Spanish painters as Velásquez and Ribera, and such Italian artists as Titian, it was particularly noteworthy for the large number of works by such Flemish artists as Rubens and Van Dyck acquired while he served at the palace in Brussels. This portrait is thought to have been painted in Brussels in 1634 when Van Dyck, court painter for the British king Charles I, returned briefly to Flanders. The work exhibits Van Dyck's special characteristics, his firm grasp of the subject's individual characteristics and his rich, somewhat idealized form of expression, while the subject's figure and clothing are relatively somber in terms of Van Dyck's normal palette. This could have been a result of specific instructions from the marquis, familiar with portraits by such Spanish artists as Velásquez. Another work that closely resembles this work is now in Madrid (Spanish-American Bank collection). The painting of secondary areas such as the background and clothing in the NMWA work is simplified and the work lacks an official character. Also, traces of revisions to the right arm, thought to have been painted by Van Dyck himself, indicate that this work was the first of the two to be painted. It can be suggested that the Madrid work was based on the NMWA work as a presentation piece. The number inscribed in the lower right of the composition also confirms that this work was originally in the marquis' own collection. (Source: Masterpieces of the National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo, 2009, cat. no. 29)

Provenance

Marquis of Leganés; Mr. Madrazo, Madrid; Sir Lionel Harvey, ca. 1821; Colonel Hugh Baillie; Mr. Birch, Norwood, 1827; Thomas, Earl of Grey; Earl Cowper, Panshanger; By decent to Baroness Lucas, Crudwell; Auc. Baroness Lucas, Christie's, May 26, 1922, no. 86; Mr. Vickers; Hon. Clive and Mrs. Pearson, Parham Hall (Sussex); Thomas Agnew and Sons Ltd., London; Purchased by the NMWA, 1987.

Exhibition History

1953: Flemish Art 1300-1700, Royal Academy of Art, London, 0 1953 - 0 1954, cat. no. 128
1990: Anthony van Dyck, Sogo Museum of Art, 15 August 1990 - 30 September 1990, cat.no. 26, repr. color., Shizuoka Prefectural Museum of Art, 6 October 1990 - 7 November 1990, Museum of Art, Kintetsu, 16 November 1990 - 3 December 1990
1997: Resonating Love and Life: European Art from National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo, The Niigata Prefectural Museum of Modern Art, Nagaoka, 12 April 1997 - 18 May 1997, cat. no. 3
2018: Velázquez and the Celebration of Painting: The Golden Age in the Museo del Prado: The 150th Anniversary of the Establishment of Diplomatic Relations between Japan and Spain, The National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo, 24 February 2018 - 27 May 2018, cat. no. X-1

Bibliography

1900: Cust, Lionel H. Anthony van Dyck: An Historical Study of His Life and Works. London, 1900, p. 42.
1931: Glück, Gustav. Van Dyck: Des Meisters Gemälde. Stuttgart, 1931, (Klassiker der Kunst XIII), p. 566, fig. 424.
1962: López Navío, José. La gran colección de pinturas del Marqués de Leganés. Analecta Calasanctiana. nos. 7-8, 1962, p. 289, no. 457.
1966: Salas, Xavier de. Cuatro obras maestras. Madrid, 1966, p. 289, no. 457. (on the version at Coll. Banco Urquijo, Madrid.)
1975: Maîtres Flamands du Dix-septiéme Siècle du Prado et de collections privées espagnoles (exh. cat.). Musées Royaux des Beaux-Arts de Belgique, Bruxelles, 1975, (cited under no. 15.)
1977: Díaz Padrón, Matías. Pedro Pablo Rubens: Exposición Homenaje (exh. cat.). Palacio de Velàzquez, Madrid, 1977, (cited under no. 28.)
1980: Crawford Volk, Mary. New Light on a Seventeenth-Century Collector: The Marquis of Leganés. The Art Bulletin, June 1980, pp. 256-268.
1980: Larsen, Erik. L'Opera Completa di Van Dyck. Milano, 1980, (cited under no. 687.)
1982: Díaz Padrón, Matías. Colección Banco Urquijo. Madrid, 1982, (cited under no. 316.)
1987: Díaz Padrón, Matías. Colección Grupo Banco Hispano Americano: Renacimiento y Barroco (exh. cat. ). Museo de Santa Cruz, Toledo, 1987 , (cited under no. 9.)
1988: Larsen, Erik. The Paintings of Anthony van Dyck. Freien, 1988, vol. 1, p. 338, vol. 2, p. 325, no. 827.
1989: Kobayashi-Sato, Yoriko. Catalogue of Dutch and Flemish Paintings in Japan I. Annual Report Bridgestone Museum of Art & Ishibashi Museum of Art. no. 37 (1988), 1989, pp. 42-43, no. 11, repr.
1989: Masterpieces of the National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo. Tokyo, The National Museum of Western Art, 1989 (Japanese, preface in Japanese and English), no. 23, repr.
1990: Catalogue of painting acquisitions: 1979-1989. Tokyo, The National Museum of Western Art, 1990, pp. 34-36, repr.
1990: Yukiyama, Koji. Considerations on Diego Felipe de Guzmán, Marquis of Leganés by Anthony van Dyck. Annual bulletin of the National Museum of Western Art. Nos. 21-22 (1986-87), 1990, pp. 191-202, Catalogue of the New Acquisitions 1986-87. pp. 32-33, repr.
1990: Anthony van Dyck (exh. cat.). Art Life, ed. [Tokyo]. Art Life, 1990, pp. 133, 149, cat. no. 26, col. repr.
2005: Juan van der Hamen y León y la corte de Madrid (exh. cat.). Jordan, William B., ed. Palacio Real, Madrid, October 2005-January 2006; Meadows Museum, Dallas, February –May 2006, Madrid. Patrimonio Nacional, 2005, pp. 183-202, fig. II.8.
2006: Masterpieces of The National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo. Tokyo, The National Museum of Western Art; Tokyo, The Western Art Foundation, 2006 (Japanese, preface in Japanese and English), no. 29, col. repr.
2009: Masterpieces of The National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo. Tokyo, The National Museum of Western Art; Tokyo, The Western Art Foundation, 2009, no. 29, col. repr.
2013: Masterpieces: The National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo. Tokyo, The Western Art Foundation, 2013 (Japanese, preface in Japanese and English), no. 43, col. repr.
2018: Velázquez and the Celebration of Painting: the Golden Age in the Museo del Prado: the 150th Anniversary of the Establishment of Diplomatic Relations between Japan and Spain (exh. cat.). Kawase, Yusuke; Yomiuri Shimbun, eds. Tokyo, Yomiuri Shimbun; The National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo, 2018, pp. 142-143, cat. no. X-1, col. repr.
2018: Kofuku, Akira. Catalogue of Dutch and Flemish Paintings, The National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo. [Tokyo], The National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo; The Western Art Foundation, 2018, pp. 89-91, no. 23, col. repr.

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