Portrait of the Countess Castlehaven
by DYCK, Sir Anthony van, Oil on canvas
The creased drapery in compositions often evidences a great power of expression. Anthony van Dyck seems to have been an influential factor in the development of this kind of abstract idiom. A spectacular example is found in the present portrait. The green drapery held by the woman “behaves” in a remarkable wilful manner - as if the fabric, stirred by the wind, is wrenching itself free of its own volition.