Youthful Ambition: Anthony van Dyck’s ‘Self-Portrait as Icarus’

Flemish painter Anthony van Dyck was not yet 20 years old when he painted Self-Portrait as Icarus with Daedalus in about 1618. The artist announced his abilities and ambitions in the painting, depicting himself as a classical symbol of youthful transgression.

In this virtual program organized by the Center for Netherlandish Art, join leading experts on Flemish art to take a closer look at the recently rediscovered work, which is a promised gift to the MFA from the Van Otterloo Collection. Explore Van Dyck’s motivations behind the painting and the pictorial traditions from which it emerged. Also learn about other paintings by Van Dyck at the MFA—including Portrait of a Senator, a promised gift from the Weatherbie Collection—and preview the Museum’s plans for displaying works by Van Dyck and other Flemish masters in the new galleries of Dutch and Flemish art, opening fall 2021.

This session is led via Zoom and includes opportunities for questions and dialogue. Follow the link to preregister for the program.*

*Live-streaming programs utilize Zoom. To access you will be required to download Zoom.

Program

Opening remarks

Yves Wantens, General Delegate of Flanders to the USA

Introduction to the art of Anthony van Dyck at the MFA

Christopher Atkins, Van Otterloo-Weatherbie Director, Center for Netherlandish Art

In-depth investigation of Anthony van Dyck’s Self-portrait as Icarus

Katlijne Van der Stighelen, professor of Early Modern Art History, KU Leuven (University of Leuven), Belgium

Icarus as a subject in Flemish art, from Bruegel to Van Dyck and beyond

Larry Silver, James and Nan Wagner Farquhar Professor Emeritus, University of Pennsylvania

Roundtable conversation

Moderated by Antien Knaap, assistant curator, Art of Europe, MFA