''Charles I in Three Positions'', also known as the ''Triple Portrait of Charles I'', is an oil painting of

Charles I of England Charles I (19 November 1600 – 30 January 1649) was King of England, Scotland, and Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. He was born into the House of Stuart as the second son of King James VI of Scotland, but after hi ...

by Flemish artist Sir Anthony van Dyck, showing the king from three viewpoints: left full profile, face on, and right three-quarter profile. It is currently part of the Royal Collection. The colours of the costumes and pattern of the lace collars are different in each portrait, though the blue

riband A ribbon or riband is a thin band of material, typically cloth but also plastic or sometimes metal, used primarily as decorative binding and tying. Cloth ribbons are made of natural materials such as silk, cotton, and jute and of synthetic mater ...

of the Order of the Garter is present in all three. The painting was probably begun in the latter part of 1635, and was sent to Rome in 1636 to be used as a reference work for the Italian sculptor Gian Lorenzo Bernini to create a marble bust of Charles I. Bernini famously exclaimed, upon seeing the painting, it was "the portrait of a doomed man". Pope Urban VIII sent the

bust Bust commonly refers to: * A woman's breasts * Bust (sculpture), of head and shoulders * An arrest Bust may also refer to: Places * Bust, Bas-Rhin, a city in France *Lashkargah, Afghanistan, known as Bust historically Media * ''Bust'' (magazin ...

to Charles's queen

Henrietta Maria Henrietta Maria (french: link=no, Henriette Marie; 25 November 1609 – 10 September 1669) was Queen of England, Scotland, and Ireland from her marriage to King Charles I on 13 June 1625 until Charles was executed on 30 January 1649. She was ...

in 1638 in the hope of encouraging a reconciliation of the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

with the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britai ...

. The bust was presented in 1637 and admired for its workmanship and likeness to the king. Charles rewarded Bernini with a valuable diamond ring. Queen Henrietta Maria commissioned Bernini to make a companion bust of her, but the

English Civil War The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians (" Roundheads") and Royalists led by Charles I ("Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of England's governance and issues of re ...

intervened and it was never made. The bust of Charles was sold at the end of the

but recovered for the Royal Collection on the

Restoration Restoration is the act of restoring something to its original state and may refer to: * Conservation and restoration of cultural heritage ** Audio restoration ** Film restoration ** Image restoration ** Textile restoration * Restoration ecology ...

, only to be destroyed by a fire in

Whitehall Palace The Palace of Whitehall (also spelt White Hall) at Westminster was the main residence of the English monarchs from 1530 until 1698, when most of its structures, except notably Inigo Jones's Banqueting House of 1622, were destroyed by fire. H ...

in January 1698. The painting remained in the possession of Bernini and his heirs in the Bernini Palace on the

Via del Corso The Via del Corso is a main street in the historical centre of Rome. It is straight in an area otherwise characterized by narrow meandering alleys and small piazzas. Considered a wide street in ancient times, the Corso is approximately 10 metres w ...

until 1802, when it was sold to British art dealer William Buchanan and returned to England. It was exhibited at the British Gallery in 1821. It was acquired for the Royal Collection in 1822. It is thought that the painting was influenced by

Lorenzo Lotto Lorenzo Lotto (c. 1480 – 1556/57) was an Italian painter, draughtsman, and illustrator, traditionally placed in the Venetian school, though much of his career was spent in other north Italian cities. He painted mainly altarpieces, religiou ...

's '' Triple Portrait of a Goldsmith'', 1530, then in the Royal Collection. In its turn, Van Dyck's portrait of Charles I may have influenced

Philippe de Champaigne Philippe de Champaigne (; 26 May 1602 – 12 August 1674) was a Brabançon-born French Baroque era painter, a major exponent of the French school. He was a founding member of the Académie de peinture et de sculpture in Paris, the premier art ...

's '' Triple portrait of Cardinal de Richelieu'', 1642. Many copies of the work were made, possibly by supporters of the royal

House of Stuart The House of Stuart, originally spelt Stewart, was a royal house of Scotland, England, Ireland and later Great Britain. The family name comes from the office of High Steward of Scotland, which had been held by the family progenitor Walter fi ...

, including one created around 1750 and now in the collection of the

Victoria and Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (often abbreviated as the V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.27 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and nam ...

in London. The

British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...

has an engraving which was believed to depict the bust before it was destroyed, with baroque locks of flowing hair, fine lace collar, garter sash, possibly by Robert van Voerst, but now believed to show a bust by

François Dieussart François Dieussart (also Frans; Armentières, c. 1600 – London, 1661) was a Walloons, Walloon sculptor who worked for Noble court, court patrons in England, the Dutch Republic and northern Europe, producing portrait busts in the Italianate m ...

. The painting currently hangs in the Queen's Drawing room at

Windsor Castle Windsor Castle is a royal residence at Windsor in the English county of Berkshire. It is strongly associated with the English and succeeding British royal family, and embodies almost a millennium of architectural history. The original c ...

. File:Lorenzo Lotto - Triple Portrait of a Goldsmith.jpg, '' Triple Portrait of a Goldsmith'',

, , Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna File:Triple Portrait of Cardinal de Richelieu probably 1642, Philippe de Champaigne.jpg, '' Triple Portrait of Cardinal de Richelieu'',

, ,

National Gallery The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London, England. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of over 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The current Director ...

, London

References

External links

Notes on Pictures in the Royal Collections – XIII. The Triple Portrait of Charles I by van Dyck, and the Bust by Bernini
Lionel Cust, ''The Burlington Magazine for Connoisseurs'', Vol. 14, No. 72 (Mar., 1909), pp. 337–341
Robert van Voerst, Portrait bust of Charles I, an engraving
British Museum Portraits by Anthony van Dyck Charles I of England in art 1630s paintings

Charles I Charles I may refer to: Kings and emperors * Charlemagne (742–814), numbered Charles I in the lists of Holy Roman Emperors and French kings * Charles I of Anjou (1226–1285), also king of Albania, Jerusalem, Naples and Sicily * Charles I of ...

Paintings in the Royal Collection of the United Kingdom Paintings in Windsor Castle {{17C-painting-stub