Charles I and Anthony van Dyck portraiture : images of authority and masculinity

viii, 164 leaves : [18] leaves of color plates ; 29 cmThis thesis is an examination of Charles I of England’s projection of kingship through Sir Anthony van Dyck portraits during his personal rule. These portraits provide important insight into Charles’ vision of kingship because they were commissioned by the king and displayed at court, revealing that his kingship rested on complementary ideals of traditional kingship in addition to divine right. In this thesis, Charles’ van Dyck portraits are studied in the context of seventeenth-century ideals of paterfamilias, knight, and gentleman. These ideals provide important cultural narratives which were seen to be reflective of legitimacy, power, and masculinity, which in turn gave legitimacy to Charles’ kingship. The system of values and ideals represented in Charles’ portraits reveal that his vision of kingship was complex and nuanced, demonstrating that divine right was just one aspect of many, upon which his kingship was premised