Anthony van Dyck was born in Antwerp, Belguim, in 1599 and died in London, England, in 1641. (He's buried in St Paul's Cathedral.) Van Dyck is best remembered for his portraits, though he also painted religious and mythological pictures. He was an assistant to Rubens in his teens, but by 1618 was already a master in the Guild of St Luke (you needed to be a member of this to work as an artist in Antwerp).
Van Dyck settled in London in 1632, as court painter to King Charles I, who granted him a knighthood. His portraits created a new standard for the genre in England, but according to the Oxford Companion to Western Art Van Dyck "was also the victim of the compelling success of his formulas. The proliferation of inferior studio versions, later copies, and poor pastiches hopefully attributed to him has detracted from his stature."
