Anthony van Dyck self portrait (Metropolitan Museum of Art) Anthony van Dyck self portrait (Metropolitan Museum of Art) The Metropolitan Museum of Art possesses in its collection a self portrait painted by Flemish artist Anthony van Dyck. Done in oil on canvas, the work depicts its creator during his early twenties. The self portrait was likely painted by van Dyck during the winter of 1620-1621, which the artist spent in London. van Dyck chose to render a depiction of himself as a country gentlemen dressed in fine clothes; he likely acquired these clothes due to his father being a wealthy clothier. The painting was donated to the Met by
Anthony van Dyck in Antwerp, returning the following year, and in 1640–41, as the Civil War loomed, spent several months in Flanders and France. In 1640 he accompanied prince John Casimir of Poland after he was freed from French imprisonment. A letter dated 13 August 1641, from Lady Roxburghe in England to a correspondent in The Hague, reported that van Dyck was recuperating from a long illness. In November van Dyck's condition worsened, and he returned to England from Paris, where he had gone to paint Cardinal Richelieu. He died in London on 9 December 1641. In the 17th century, demand for portraits