(2 of 2)
In England, Van Dyck had everything, but like King Charles, he couldn't keep it. The elegant night life wore him down; the importunities of such lovely mistresses as Margaret Lemon (who once tried to stab his painting hand) exhausted him. At 40, Van Dyck left England to Cromwell's Roundheads, returned to Antwerp. He had hopes of becoming Rubens' successor in the field of mythological and religious painting, but within three years he died. Had he lived longer, the crackerjack art student, playboy and plaything of society might have known disappointment ; big things were not in his line.
Yet the best of Van Dyck's portraits would live as long as the paint stayed on the canvas. Seen in the cold, impersonal surroundings of the Koninklijk Museum last week, they looked a little ill at ease, for they had been intended to grace warmer, more elegant worlds. But the paintings themselves had warmth and elegance enough to make 17th Century history, and to make the people who strutted through it come alive.