SABAUDA GALLERY, Van Dyck

Stop to look at the Portrait of The Three Eldest Children of Charles I of England painted by Anthony van Dyck in 1635. You can only be fascinated by this work.

Although Van Dyck was originally from Antwerp, he eventually moved to London when he became a court painter and made several portraits of the English royal family where the figures are often accompanied by dogs. As you can see, here the king's three older children are accompanied by a spaniel, one of the royal family's favorite breeds.

The painting was commissioned by Queen Henrietta Maria, who wanted to give a nice gift to her sister, Maria Cristina of Bourbon-France and the wife of the Duke of Savoy. When it arrived in Turin, the work was given a place of honor in the "Great Chamber" of the Royal Palace. During the French Revolution, the triple portrait was kindly "removed" and taken to the Louvre, but after Napoleon's fall it was returned to Turin to finally become part of the Sabauda Gallery, where it is now one of the most famous images....