Lucas van Uffel (died 1637)

Van Uffel was a wealthy Flemish merchant who lived in Venice, where Van Dyck painted this portrait. Inspired by Venetian portraits of the High Renaissance, Van Dyck depicted Van Uffel as a learned gentleman, with signs of his varied interests: a drafting tool, a recorder, the bow of a viola da gamba, an antique head, a drawing, and a celestial globe. Van Uffel’s unusual posture, as though turning to address the beholder, lends a dynamic quality to his portrait.