The Van Dyck year 1999 and the various exhibitions organized in Antwerp on that particular occasion enabled both the Wetenschappelijk Onderzoeksgemeenschap Vlaamse Renaissance- en Barokkunst and the Rubenianum to organize an international colloquium in the painter's birthplace, from 17 to 19 May, 1999. The main aim of this event was to get a clearer picture of the actual state of research on the various aspects of an artistic personality that is fascinating in so many ways. It was a great pleasure to find so many scholars prepared to present their conclusions and ideas in the form of specific case studies. They discussed aspects of biographical evidence, technique, style and iconography within the wider framework of the painter's life and work. They also shed new light on Van Dyck's personality, influence and fame. The here published acts of the Antwerp Van Dyck colloquium contain the revised and updated texts of twenty lectures.