The Shepherd Paris (van Dyck) in the Wallace Collection. It was acquired by Henry Hope prior to 1807 before being bought by Francis Charles Seymour-Conway, 3rd Marquess of Hertford when the Hope collection was sold at Christie's on 29 June 1816. At that time, it was thought to be a self-portrait of van Dyck himself. The Marquess intended to bequeath the painting to George IV but he outlived the king and was unable to do so. The Shepherd Paris (van Dyck) The Shepherd Paris is a c.1628 painting by the Flemish artist Anthony van Dyck, dating to just after the artist's return from Italy and
Anthony van Dyck was provided with a house on the River Thames at Blackfriars, then just outside the City, thus avoiding the monopoly of the Worshipful Company of Painter-Stainers. A suite of rooms in Eltham Palace, no longer used by the royal family, was also put at his disposal as a country retreat. His Blackfriars studio was frequently visited by the King and Queen (later a special causeway was built to ease their access), who hardly sat for another painter while van Dyck lived. He was an immediate success in England, rapidly painting a large number of portraits of the King and Queen