inscribed ‘A. v Dyck’ (burnished) and with pencil inscriptions ‘inv. 549/ Dubb [...]’ and ‘A. 4488’ (verso)
etching, watermark fleur-de-lys (indistinct)
11.1 x 8.1 cm (plate); 11.6 x 8.6 cm
Hollstein 4 [1], this state not listed; The New Hollstein 58, second and final state [2], a good, although unevenly printed impression, there are two slightly thin spots at top, but the sheet is in otherwise very good condition

Provenance:
Prentenkabinet, Universiteitsbibliotheek Leiden (L. 700b). Rijksprentenkabinet, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam (L. 2228).

Besides being trained by his father, Lucas Franchoys II was a pupil of Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640). It is thought that Franchoys moved to Paris to work for the Princes of Condé after the death of his father in 1643. [3] After three years he moved back to the Southern Netherlands where he received commissions for (monumental) altarpieces from churches and monasteries. While painting constituted by far the most significant aspect of his career and undoubtedly provided his primary source of income, the artist did create
a small number of etchings. Three of those works, including the present one, are after works by Anthony van Dyck (1599-1641). The present etching, showing a wonderfully freely interpreted head of a bearded man, is exceptionally rare. Hardly any impressions are known to have survived, either in private or public collections; The New Hollstein cites one impression of the first state in Amsterdam and one impression of the second state in Brussels. [4] Franchoys’ small printed œuvre and the few impressions of his etchings that have survived, suggest that the artist was experimenting with the technique, rather than creating etchings for a larger audience. Both the present etching and the one in Brussels are printed in a rather messy way; the inscription ‘A. v Dyck’ which appears in the first state has been burnished, the ink is not evenly distributed and furthermore there are fingerprints - likely Franchoys’ own - visible in the upper left of the present etching. Due to their rarity and unique character, these etchings provide us with valuable glimpses into the artist’s studio and working practices.

[1] F.W.H. Hollstein, Dutch and Flemish Etchings, Engravings and Woodcuts. ca. 1450-1700. Volume VII, Fouceel-Gole, Amsterdam, 1952, p. 6.
[2] S. Turner, The New Hollstein. Dutch & Flemish Etchings, Engravings and Woodcuts. 1450-1700. Anthony van Dyck. Part VIII, Rotterdam, 2002, p. 45.
[3] E. Duverger and D. Maufort, ‘The cast for the production of Van Dyck’s prints’, in Anthony van Dyck as a printmaker, exhib. cat., Antwerp, Museum Plantin-Moretus and Stedelijk Prentenkabinet, 1999, p. 371-372.
[4] A first state impression is in the Rijkmsuseum, Amsterdam (inv. RP-P-OB-52.236) and the second state in the KBR, Brussels (inv. S. I 13411).