When Anthony van Dyck arrived at the court of Modena in 1629, he was greeted as a celebrity, his reputation already sealed by his years in Genoa and London. It was here, in 1631, that he painted Portrait of Filippo Francesco d'Este, Marchese di Lanzo with his Dog, capturing a young scion of the Este dynasty at a time when the family was seeking to assert its prestige through art. The painting is one of only a handful of van Dyck’s works for the Este family, and its commission marked a deliberate attempt by the Este to align themselves with the grand portrait tradition of the northern courts.

The sitter, Filippo Francesco, was a lesser-known member of the house, making this portrait a rare glimpse into the lives of the Este beyond the usual parade of dukes and duchesses. Van Dyck chooses a moment of poised intimacy: Filippo Francesco stands with his loyal dog, hand resting lightly on the animal’s head, eyes meeting the viewer with a mixture of assurance and youthful vulnerability. The dog, a symbol of fidelity and noble leisure, anchors the composition and softens the formality of the sitter’s pose. The Marchese’s attire—sumptuous but not ostentatious—signals both his rank and the understated elegance favored by the Este court.

Van Dyck’s handling of light, which caresses the boy’s face and the dog’s fur, recalls his earlier Genoese portraits, yet the psychological immediacy is distinctly his own. Compared to Velázquez’s more austere Prince Baltasar Carlos with a Dwarf, van Dyck’s approach is warmer, more personal, inviting the viewer into the sitter’s world. The precise journey of this painting after its creation remains somewhat obscure, as do many Este family portraits dispersed during the upheavals of the 18th and 19th centuries. It is likely that Portrait of Filippo Francesco d'Este, Marchese di Lanzo with his Dog remained in Modena for generations before entering private collections, eventually surfacing in the international art market.

Attribution to van Dyck has never been seriously questioned, thanks to the distinct handling of flesh tones and the psychological acuity of the sitter. Today, the painting stands as a testament to van Dyck’s enduring influence on the art of portraiture and the ambitions of the Italian nobility who sought to capture their likenesses through his eyes.