there, he painted portits, such as this fanciful allegocal image on his return tont, he painted these portraits, which ce again revealed thyoung artist's sympathy for children and his unique sensitivity to the psychological character of his sitters. van dyck painted this portrait of rubens' wife a parng gt hi, tir garn. in the fall of 1621, van ck ltwerp sndix yrs in aly. in ita e poet compositis and rich brushwork of the 16th-century master titian appealed to the flemish artist, as did his penetrating portraits. in a sketchbook that he kept as he traveled, van dyck recorded works by the venetian artist. these drawings would later provide ideas and inspiration. the influence titian had on van dyck's interpretation of the figure is evident in van dyck's painting of george gage, an englishman who was in ity to acquire works of ar gage's by not froal but inead turns in spa, making the composition bold and lifelike. the artist's own character and his attitude toward his art are revealed in this marvelous self-portrait, painted shortly after dyck's arrival iitaly. as a contemporary wrote,