The Continence of Scipio
by DYCK, Sir Anthony van, Oil on canvas, 183 x 233 cm
Van Dyck’s virtuosity in the technique of foreshortening made him particularly appropriate to carry out the ceiling paintings of the Jesuit church in Antwerp. An echo of this lost set of paintings is the Continence of Scipio, which Van Dyck executed shortly afterwards. This is one of the works Van Dyck painted during a short stay in England, where he mainly worked in the service of the Earl of Arundel.