Van Dyke beard


A Van Dyke is a style of facial hair named after the 17th-century Flemish painter Anthony van Dyck. A Van Dyke specifically consists of any growth of both a moustache and goatee with all hair on the cheeks shaved. Even this particular style, though, has many variants, including a curled moustache versus a non-curled one and a soul patch versus none. The style is sometimes called a "Charlie" after King Charles I of England, who was painted with this type of beard by van Dyck. "Pike-devant" or "pickedevant" are other little-known synonyms for a Van Dyke beard.

Popularity

This style of beard was popular in Europe in the 17th century. It died out in Britain with the Restoration, when French styles and wigs became popular. For some time after, however, some men, known as "vow-beards", continued to wear them, vowing to wear them until the King did so again. It became popular in the United States in the 19th century. Columnist Edith Sessions Tupper, of the Chicago Chronicle, condemned this style, along with the goatee, as indicative of a man "who was selfish, sinister, and pompous as a peacock."
The style was worn by van Dyck himself and by many of the sitters for his portraits, including King Charles I of England. The Russian Marxist revolutionary Vladimir Lenin also wore a Van Dyke. The Van Dyke had a revival in the 19th century and was worn by several well-known figures, including General Custer and the actor Monty Woolley. Colonel Sanders would also qualify as having a Van Dyke.

Examples