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Planning to visit us this week? Here’s some tips to help you enjoy your visit during the heatwave

  • If you’d like to avoid the peak temperatures, we’ll be open from 10am – 5pm, Wed 24 – Sun 28 Jun
  • The shuttle bus will be running throughout the week, going between the Welcome Centre and the galleries/café
  • The galleries are climate-controlled, take your time exploring the art collections and exhibitions in the cool
  • The woodland area by the lake provides plenty of shade 
  • You can top up your water with our free water station in the café
  • Cold drinks and ice creams can be purchased at both the Welcome Centre and café

The Image of a King

31 March 2012 – 16 September 2012

About the
exhibition

Antwerp-born Anthony Van Dyck (1599-1641) is one of Britain’s best-loved artists – a virtuoso portraitist who excelled in creating imposing images of King Charles I and his family during the 1630s. Possibly Van Dyck’s most impressive and original court portrait was the superb Charles I in Three Positions of 1635, a work which not only captures the certainty of the monarch’s beliefs but also conveys his wistful, reserved and doomed air.

It was painted for the great sculptor Gianlorenzo Bernini as a guide to the King’s features for a marble portrait bust (now lost). This fabulous picture,  on loan from the Royal Collection, was shown in British Portraits alongside Compton Verney’s portrait bust of Charles I, itself a copy of the original by Bernini.

Image of a King, Installation View © Compton Verney, photo by Jamie Woodley