Gillis Mostaert

Adoration of the Shepherds by Gillis Mostaert (1534 - 1598) Flemish Renaissance

1570s

Frans Francken the Younger 1581 - Antwerp - 1642 Flemish Painter 'The Departure of the Israelites from Egypt – The Exodus', c. 1610 - 1620 Medium: pen in sepia on paper Dimensions: mage size 26 x 34,5 cm, frame size 55 x 65,5 cm Biography: Frans Francken the Younger, born in Antwerp in 1581 and passing away on May 6, 1642, also in Antwerp, was a distinguished Flemish painter. He is recognized as the most prominent and productive member of the renowned Francken family of artists. Francken explored a wide range of subjects, creating large altarpieces for churches and producing smaller works depicting historical, mythological, and allegorical scenes. Notably, his depictions of collectors’ cabinets established a popular new genre of art during his era. He was known for collaborating with other artists, enriching their works with his skilled renderings of figures and narrative elements, complementing specialists in landscape, architectural scenes, and floral still-life painting. Francken was born to Frans Francken the Elder and Elisabeth Mertens. His father was a pupil of Antwerp’s leading history painter, Frans Floris, and a significant creator of altarpieces in Flanders during his time. Francken received his artistic training under the guidance of his father. Additionally, it is possible that Frans and his brother, Hieronymus Francken II, received further instruction in the workshop of their uncle, Hieronymus Francken I, in Paris. A versatile artist, Francken made significant contributions to various genres within Flemish art, introducing new themes and subjects. Many of his works comprised small-scale historical, allegorical, and biblical cabinet paintings, often emphasizing figures. He is credited with either inventing or popularizing several novel themes that gained popularity in Flemish painting, including genre scenes featuring monkeys (also known as singeries) and Kunstkammer or gallery paintings, presenting a plethora of natural and artistic treasures against a neutral wall. Francken introduced various other unconventional themes that later gained traction, such as the ‘Triumphal Procession of Amphitrite’ and ‘Croesus and Solon.’ He also produced a series of paintings depicting witches and witchcraft, including portrayals of witches’ sabbats. His remarkable paintings are held in the collections of numerous major museums throughout Europe. Francken specialized in rendering the human figure, as evidenced by etched and engraved portraits of the artist by Anthony van Dyck (after Peter Paul Rubens), identifying him with the Latin inscription: ‘ANTVERIÆ PICTOR HVMANARVM FIGVRARVM’ (Figure painter of Antwerp). He was frequently invited to contribute figures to compositions by other esteemed artists, including landscape artists such as Tobias Verhaecht, Abraham Govaerts, and Joos de Momper...

Verwée Louis-Pierre Courtrai 1807 – 1877 Brussels Belgian Painter 'Landscape with Shepherds and Animals by the Water' Signature: signed lower right and dated 'L. P. Verwee 1851' Medium: oil on panel Dimensions: image size 43 x 52 cm, frame size 58 x 66 cm Biography: Louis-Pierre Verwee (also spelled Verwée) was born on March 19, 1807, in Kortrijk, Belgium, and died in Brussels in November 1877. He is widely regarded as the leading representative of the Romantic school in Belgian landscape painting, particularly known for his evocative winter scenes and rural landscapes with cattle. Verwee left school at an early age to pursue his passion for art. He enrolled at the Academy of Fine Arts in Kortrijk, where he studied under Jan Baptiste de Jonghe, a prominent landscape and animal painter. He later continued his artistic training with Eugène Verboeckhoven in Ghent, who would not only become his mentor but also a lifelong friend and collaborator. The two artists often worked side by side, and Verboeckhoven occasionally painted the figures and animals in Verwee’s landscapes, to such a degree that their early works are sometimes difficult to distinguish. Verwee followed Verboeckhoven to Brussels and established himself as a successful landscape and animal painter. His preferred subjects were winter and summer scenes, typically populated with figures and animals. His style, particularly in his early work, was closely aligned with that of Verboeckhoven. Over time, he became known for landscapes that reflected the romantic tradition, with compositions echoing the work of Andreas Schelfhout, Barend Cornelis Koekkoek, Frans Keelhoff, and Johann Bernard Klombeck. His depictions of forests and rivers often employed a dreamy, atmospheric quality that captured the mood and light of nature. In his later career, Verwee sought artistic innovation but found himself increasingly focused on variations of winter landscapes after 1837. These scenes, popularized by Koekkoek and Schelfhout, were characterized by low-hanging snow clouds, icy waterways, and a cool palette of light blue and metallic grey, creating a moody and intimate ambiance. Occasionally, other artists such as Florent Willems...

Adoration of the shepherds, Cercle of Ambrosius Francken, Early 17th century Antwerp school Oil on oak panel: h. 55 cm, w. 43 cm (21.65 in x 16.93 in) 17th c. ebonized and moulded f...

Attr. to Girolamo Siciolante known as da Sermoneta (Sermoneta, 1521 - Rome, 1575) Adoration of the Shepherds Oil on copper, 39 x 29.5 cm Frame 47 x 39 cm The refined taste, the refined poses, the definition of the anatomies, the vibrant light, allow us to identify for this painting the hand of a Mannerist painter active during the sixteenth century. In particular, the composition and stylistic research allow us to attribute the panel to Girolamo Siciolante, known as da Sermoneta (1521 - 1575). His first training took place under the guidance of Leonardo Grazia known as da Pistoia (1502 - 1548). Later he settled in Rome where he was able to see the painting of Raphael and Michelangelo from life and where he was first a pupil and then a collaborator of Perin del Vaga...