Anthony van Dyck (1599–1641)
Portrait Study of Quintijn Simons, ca. 1634
Black chalk, heightened with white chalk, on blue paper
17 1/2 × 11 in. (44.3 × 28 cm)
The British Museum, London
This sketch depicts the little-known painter Quintijn Simons, whom Van Dyck portrayed in a painting. In the inscription of a print after this picture, he is described as a "Brussels history painter," but this claim cannot be substantiated by any surviving work. As with many other such sketches, Van Dyck drew on both sides of this sheet.