Jan van Ravesteyn

Jan van Ravesteyn was a portrait painter active in The Hague, and Van Dyck likely drew him when he was there working on important commissions from stadholder Frederick Henry. Van Dyck’s sympathetic portrait depicts Van Ravesteyn, who was around sixty, with great dignity. The artist probably worked from life, using a sharp piece of chalk that allowed for sufficient detail to draw the head and the intricate patterns formed by the layers of the linen ruff, while the outline of Van Ravesteyn’s body is indicated more broadly.