In 1620, at just twenty-one years old, Anthony van Dyck painted Portrait of a Judge during his first independent years in Antwerp, a period when he was already attracting the attention of the city’s elite. The sitter’s identity remains a mystery, sparking debate among historians: some suggest he may have been a member of the city’s powerful magistracy, others propose a connection to the influential Guild of Saint Luke. What is certain is that Van Dyck’s skill at capturing authority and presence brought him commissions from the legal and mercantile classes, setting him apart from his contemporaries.

This painting stands as one of the earliest examples of Van Dyck’s mature portrait style, which would soon make him famous across Europe. Van Dyck chooses a moment of poised stillness: the judge sits upright, his gaze direct but not severe, one hand resting on a stack of documents, the other lightly gripping a chain of office. The heavy black robe, edged with white, signals the dignity of his office, while the gold chain marks his official rank. The light falls from the left, illuminating the judge’s face and hands, drawing the viewer’s attention to the instruments of his profession.

Unlike the more theatrical portraits of his mentor Peter Paul Rubens, Van Dyck introduces a subtle psychological depth—there is both authority and a trace of fatigue in the judge’s expression, hinting at the burdens of responsibility. The sparse background, with only the faint outline of a column, keeps the focus on the sitter’s presence. The fate of Portrait of a Judge after its creation is uncertain; no records of its early ownership survive, which is not unusual for Van Dyck’s Antwerp period. It resurfaced in the late nineteenth century in a Belgian private collection, where it was attributed to Van Dyck based on style and technique.

Since then, it has passed through several hands, occasionally sparking debate over whether it might be the work of a talented follower. Today, consensus among scholars supports Van Dyck’s authorship, and the painting is recognized as a significant example of his early portraiture, bridging his formative years in Antwerp and his later international career.