Pieter Franchoys

1606 – 1654

Flemish painter, part of a family of artists in Mechelen. Lucas Franchoys the Elder was a portrait and figure painter. He was dean of the Guild of St Luke six times between 1603 and 1640. He probably trained both his sons, Pieter Franchoys and Lucas Franchoys the Younger. Pieter Franchoys studied in Antwerp (probably with Gerard Seghers) and visited Paris. He returned to Mechelen in 1635 and established himself as a painter of portraits and religious subjects. Only a few portraits have survived, for example Man Holding a Wine-glass (1639; Musées Royaux des Beaux-Arts, Brussels). Stylistically they are related to his brother's portraits: like Lucas II, Pieter represented his sitters with a sense of calculated informality. In this respect he was influenced by Anthony van Dyck. He enjoyed a considerable reputation, as is evidenced by the interest taken in his work by Archduke Leopold William.

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