In this three-quarter length portrait, Henry Frederick Howard, the 22nd Earl of Arundel, is depicted wearing armour similar to that seen in a portrait of his father by Peter Paul Rubens. A helmet rests on a column to his right, inscribed with ‘Droit et Avant’ (‘Right and Front’), indicating his readiness for battle. Through an open window behind him, dark, billowing clouds loom over the ocean coast, most likely referencing the Arundel family’s land in West Sussex along the southeast coast of England.
Antoon van Dyck produced numerous portraits of the Arundel family, with Sir Thomas Howard as the family’s figurehead, an important English patron of the artist. The Earl of Arundel’s family, one of the oldest aristocratic families in Europe, held a significant status in English history, maintaining their Catholic faith while having a close relationship with the royal court. In the 17th century, their connections in key Catholic continental cities were crucial in bringing esteemed Flemish artists to work in England. Van Dyck painted members of the Arundel family before securing his famous royal commissions.
During the 1630s, van Dyck painted a large number of portraits of England’s key political figures. Many of these portraits were later reproduced as copies and prints, significantly raising the standards and expectations for contemporary portraits. Consequently, the traditional English portraiture school quickly fell out of favour.