Journal of the History of Collections vol. 30 no. 1 (2018) pp. 49–63 doi:10.1093/jhc/fhx014 Advance Access publication 6 June 2017 © The Author(s) 2017. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. Van Dyck paintings in Stuart royal inventories, 1639–1688 Erin Griffey Van Dyck’s paintings have been thoroughly analyzed in terms of style, iconography and patronage, but there has been no systematic analysis of how these pictures were recorded in Stuart inventories. Pictures attributed to Van Dyck are listed in several royal inventories from c.1639 to c.1688 – from those compiled by Abraham van der Doort c.1639 to the Commonwealth sale of 1649–51, to Charles II of c.1666–67, Henrietta Maria of 1669 and James II of c.1685–88. This article considers the subject matter and placement of Van Dyck’s pictures in a range of palace and room contexts, and charts change and continuity of display across the inventories. The article shows the potential for the close comparison of these royal inventories for understanding display, taste and dynastic politics at the Stuart court. VAN DYCK’s paintings at the English court, produced irst during a six-month period in 1620–21 at the court of James I, and from 1632 as ‘principalle Paynter in Ordinarie to their Majesties’, Charles I and Henrietta Maria, were a spectacular success. 1 Knighted soon after returning to England from the Continent in 1632, Van Dyck produced numerous portraits of the royal family and the nobility, his English portraits gifted and collected within élite circles in England and abroad. His composi- tions were widely copied (in large and in miniature) and disseminated as prints. Henrietta Maria noted ‘les bons et agréables services’ of ‘chevalier Antoine Vandyck’, this painter who was – is – ever-present in shaping the face of the Caroline court. 2 Van Dyck’s astonishing talents as a painter of surface lustre and subtle movement, elegant weight and intimate characterization were a perfect match for Stuart courtly magniicence. Scholars have analyzed the style, iconography and patronage of the artist’s paintings, but there has been no systematic analysis of how these pictures were recorded in Stuart inventories. Several royal invento- ries survive from c.1639 to c.1688, from Abraham van der Doort’s ‘register’ of c.1639 to the Commonwealth sale inventories of 1649–51, to the Charles II inven- tory of c.1666–67, the post-mortem inventory of Henrietta Maria of 1669 and the James II inventory of c.1685–8. 3 All of these have been transcribed and published, with the exception of the Charles II inven- tory, which Lucy Whitaker is currently undertaking for the Walpole Society. During the Stuart period, there was no methodical tracking of all works of art at every palace. Instead, inventories were occasioned by a number of differ- ent factors – personal, political and practical. Some of these record only works in particular palaces and rooms, especially the principal palaces and their state rooms and privy apartments, which were lavishly dec- orated. 4 While inventories generally present a record of objects at a particular moment, Van der Doort tracks artworks over a longer period. Appointed by Charles I as surveyor of pictures in 1625, Van der Doort was charged ‘to keepe a Register’ of them. 5 The four manuscripts of this ‘register’, a lengthy irst draft and three fair texts, are stamped with the date 1639, but Van der Doort had been compiling it for years and it includes numerous insertions, expansions, deletions and corrections. 6 If the surviving records fail to offer a comprehensive picture of display at the Stuart court, they nonetheless offer valuable insight. This article provides an overview of Van Dyck paintings listed in these Stuart royal inventories. 7 One entry by Van der Doort also records a ‘perspective’, for which Van Dyck was expected to paint a portrait of the king and ‘prince’ but ‘had no mijnd terentu’ [had no mind thereunto], an interesting reference to the painter’s perceived ability to decide what he had ‘mind’ to paint. 8 The analysis of Van Dyck paintings in these inventories provides compelling evidence of the arrangement of pictures in certain palace and room contexts; the taste for his work, including preferences Downloaded from https://academic.oup.com/jhc/article-abstract/30/1/49/3861862 by University of Auckland user on 29 April 2018