James Stuart, Duke of Richmond by Van Dyck in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, January 2020

James Stuart (1612–1655), Duke of Richmond and Lennox
ca. 1633–35


Object Details

Artist: Anthony van Dyck (Flemish, Antwerp 1599–1641 London)

Date: ca. 1633–35

Medium: Oil on canvas

Dimensions: 85 x 50 1/4 in. (215.9 x 127.6 cm)

Classification: Paintings

Credit Line: Marquand Collection, Gift of Henry G. Marquand, 1889

Accession Number: 89.15.16


Van Dyck depicts the Duke of Richmond and Lennox—an intimate friend of King Charles I—as a paragon of aristocratic self-possession and nonchalance. With a blonde lovelock spilling over his lace collar, the duke wears the insignia of the Order of the Garter, England’s highest order of chivalry; the portrait may commemorate his investiture in November 1633. The greyhound resting its muzzle on the duke’s hip alludes to the virtue of loyalty as well as the noble pastime of the hunt.


Text from: www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/436252