Antoon van Dyck (1599-1641), Christ with his cross showing his wound, c. 1619, Oil on oak, 64,6 x 49,8 cm, Palazzo Rosso, Genoa
This panel was part of a series of 13 paintings depicting Christ and the Twelve Apostles, now scattered across museums worldwide. These early works demonstrate Van Dyck’s emerging talent in portraiture, capturing both physical realism and deep emotional expression.
Before Van Dyck rose to international fame as a portraitist, he first gained recognition in Antwerp for his powerful religious paintings. This early phase of Van Dyck’s career coincided with the Twelve Years’ Truce (1609-1621), a time when the Catholic Counter-Reformation significantly influenced Antwerp’s art market. During this period, Van Dyck was closely associated with Peter Paul Rubens, assisting him on large commissions for Antwerp’s Jesuit Church. While Rubens’ influence is evident in Van Dyck’s use of dramatic light and shadow, Van Dyck began to establish his own distinct artistic identity. Likely suggested by Rubens and influenced by Rubens’ earlier series on the same theme, ‘Christ with His Cross Showing His Wound’ reflects Van Dyck’s quieter, more introspective interpretation of Christ’s suffering. His focus on emotional depth, rather than physical grandeur, contrasts with Rubens’ more theatrical style. In certain respects, this panel subtly recalls the influential Ecce Homo compositions by Andrea Solario, produced a century earlier. These early religious works laid the foundation for Van Dyck’s later acclaim. Just a few years later, he significantly refined his style and established himself as one of the leading artists of his era.
The success of this series led Van Dyck to create several replicas of some panels himself while inspiring numerous copies by other artists. Over the centuries, many of Van Dyck’s original panels were mistakenly attributed to Rubens, and inferior workshop copies, such as a weak interpretation of this panel held at the Božidar Jakac Art Museum in Slovenia, were mistakenly attributed to Van Dyck.
