Anthony van Dyck, 'Portrait of G.B. Cattaneo Della Volta (?)', 1621-5

Anthony van Dyck spent much of his twenties (1621–27) in Italy and in particular Genoa, where wealthy aristocratic merchants were keen to have themselves portrayed in a flattering and engaging manner. Many were full-length portraits of graceful figures who were clearly aware of their status. This is a more modest, half-length portrait, but the sitter still looks at us with a confident, unwavering gaze.

An inscription on the letter held by the sitter in his right hand – now barely visible – reads: ‘Gio… Batt…Cattane’. It is the only clue to the identity of the depicted man. Recent genealogical research identifies him as Giovanni Battista Cattaneo Della Volta (1578–1640) of Genoa, son of Filippo Cattaneo di Isnardo (d. 1597), who had a successful career as a merchant in Antwerp while leaving his wife and family in Genoa. Not much is known about Giovanni Battista’s life, who was one of Filippo’s three illegitimate sons born in the southern Netherlands. He lived in Genoa by 1594 and might have followed his father in pursuing a business career.

The Cattaneos were a rich and powerful Genoese family who included doges, cardinals, scholars, and statesmen. Giovanni Battista’s relatives commissioned a series of family portraits from Van Dyck, probably including Portrait of a Woman and the much admired whole-length portrayals of his stepsister-in-law, Elena Grimaldi Cattaneo, and her two children (National Gallery of Art, Washington). The secret sale of the family portraits in 1907 and their export from Italy led to a scandal.

The painting’s condition is compromised. There is reason to believe that it had been formerly enlarged and subsequently reduced in size. Recent conservation revealed the large extent of repaint and the remains of the original costume, including a fur lined cloak wrapped round the sitter’s body, but its rendering is now difficult to appreciate. The work displays stylistic qualities that seem to betray the hand of Van Dyck himself.