Saint Martin and the Beggar (van Dyck)

Saint Martin and the Beggar is a c.1618 painting of Saint Martin of Tours by the Flemish painter Anthony van Dyck. The painting portrays the saint sharing his cloak with a beggar.

Saint Martin and the Beggar by Anthony van Dyck in the Church of Saint Martin

History

It had been in van Dyck's studio for some time by 1621 and may have been completed around 1618.[1] In 1621 he was commissioned by the Chancellor of Brabant, Ferdinand de Boisschot, to deliver a painting of St Martin for the church dedicated to that saint in Zaventem.[2] Van Dyck gave him this painting in fulfilment of the commission, possibly en route through the town from Antwerp to Italy.[3]

1620 variant

A later, larger variant of the painting exists in the Royal Collection.[4] This dates from around 1620 and was probably left behind in Rubens' studio after van Dyck's departure that year - several copies exist, indicating it was still in Antwerp and available for other artists to copy. It was in Spain by the 1740s, where it was bought by Mr Bagnols and bought by Frederick, Prince of Wales before September 1747.

References
  1. Masterpieces of Western Art, page 307
  2. Estelle M. Hurll, Van Dyck: A Collection of Fifteen Pictures and a Portrait of the Painter (1902). Transcription available on Project Gutenberg.
  3. Van Dyck pad, Retrieved 2014-07-23.
  4. https://www.royalcollection.org.uk/collection/405878/st-martin-dividing-his-cloak-0
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