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Lot description
Marten Ryckaert, born in Antwerp in 1587, had only one arm due to a birth defect or an accident – a disability which, however, did not prevent him from achieving considerable success as a painter. He probably trained initially with his father before becoming a pupil of Tobias Verhaecht, with whom Peter Paul Rubens had also studied in his youth. In 1607, Ryckaert became a member of the Guild of Saint Luke and was registered as ‘the one-armed painter’ (den eenarmige schilder). It is believed that he travelled to Italy between 1607 and 1610. On his return from Italy, Ryckaert joined the renowned Antwerp rhetoricians’ guild ‘De Violieren’, alongside contemporaries such as Jan Brueghel, Hendrick van Balen and Sebastiaen Vrancx. He remained unmarried and built up a considerable art collection in his house on Meyerstraat in Antwerp. He is said to have been a close friend of Anthony van Dyck, who painted his impressive portrait around 1630 – a remarkable painting that depicts the artist’s disability with dignified directness. The painting remained in Ryckaert’s possession until his death. Today it is housed in the Museo Nacional del Prado in Madrid.