Anthony van Dyck (1599–1641)
Study of the Upper Body and Hands of George Porter, ca. 1632–33
Black chalk on buff paper
Statens Museum for Kunst, Copenhagen
Displayed here on its side, this is Van Dyck’s detailed study for the costume and hands holding gloves of George Porter, the eldest son of the courtier Endymion Porter and the second figure from the right in Van Dyck’s portrait of the Porter family. The drawing does not include George’s head, which Van Dyck must have studied separately, either in chalk or (more likely) in an oil sketch. The recto of this sheet contains two studies of George’s youngest brother for the same composition.