Abraham Genoels II or Abraham Genouil (nickname: Archimedes) (25 May 1640 – 10 May 1723) was a Flemish

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

painter, draughtsman, engraver and tapestry designer. He is now mainly known for his landscape paintings, drawings and prints. He had an international career that saw him work in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

and Antwerp.Hans Devisscher. "Genoels, Abraham, II."
Grove Art Online. Oxford Art Online. Oxford University Press. Web. 3 April 2014

Life

Abraham Genoels was born on 25 May 1640 in Antwerp as the son of the starch maker Peter Genoels and Cornelia Melis. He studied from age 11 to 15 drawing under

Jacques Backereel Jacques Backereel Jacques Backereel
at the

perspective under Nicolaes Fierlants in Antwerp. He decided to leave Antwerp as soon as he had finished his studies.Frans Jozef Peter Van den Branden, ''Geschiedenis der Antwerpsche schilderschool'', Antwerpen, 1883, pp. 1074–1076 Abraham Genoels - Italian Landscape with Ruins

Abraham Genoels - Italian Landscape with Ruins

In his compilation of artist biographies called the ''Schouwburg'', the early Dutch biographer

Arnold Houbraken Arnold Houbraken (28 March 1660 – 14 October 1719) was a Dutch people, Dutch Painting, painter and writer from Dordrecht, now remembered mainly as a biographer of Dutch Golden Age painters. Life Houbraken was sent first to learn ''threadt ...

devoted a lengthy entry of 10 pages to Genoels. Houbraken described Genoels' foreign travels.Abraham Genoels biography
in:

, ''De groote schouburgh der Nederlantsche konstschilders en schilderessen'', 1718 In 1659 Genoels travelled with Georg Remees to Amsterdam in order to go to Paris as war prevented them from travelling south over land. While waiting for a boat to Paris, he made a tour of all the ''kunstkabinetten'', or art cabinets. Upon arrival in Paris (via Dieppe), he lived at the home of his cousin Laurent Francken, where he met the painter

Francisque Millet Francisque Millet (27 April 1642, in Antwerp3 June 1679, in Paris), also known as Jean-François Milée or Millet I, was a Southern Netherlands, Flemish-French people, French landscape painter of the Baroque era. Biography According to Arnold ...

who was born in Antwerp. Genoels taught perspective to Millet, 17 and an art student at the time. Landschap met Diana op jacht Rijksmuseum SK-A-1838

Genoels soon received a commission for tapestry designs from Gi. de la Noire Tapissier. A series of other commissions soon followed.Abraham Genoels II
at the

Netherlands Institute for Art History The Netherlands Institute for Art History or RKD (Dutch: ), previously Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie (RKD), is located in The Hague and is home to the largest art history center in the world. The center specializes in document ...

The court painter (Premier peintre du roi)

Charles Le Brun Charles Le Brun (; baptised 24 February 1619 – 12 February 1690) was a French Painting, painter, Physiognomy, physiognomist, Aesthetics, art theorist, and a director of several art schools of his time. He served as a court painter to Louis XIV, ...

had at the time been put in charge of the Gobelins Manufactory, the royal tapestry works newly created in 1663. Le Brun had hired the Flemish battle painter Adam Frans van der Meulen to design tapestries depicting the French king's military campaigns.Julie Anne Plax, ''Seventeenth-Century French Images of Warfare'', in: Pia F. Cuneo, 'Artful Armies, Beautiful Battles: Art and Warfare in the Early Modern Europe', BRILL, 2002, pp. 131–155 Adam Frans van der Meulen attracted a number of Flemish artists, including Genoels and

Adriaen Frans Boudewijns Adriaen Frans Boudewijns (Brussels, 3 October 1644 – Brussels, 3 December 1719) was a Flemish Landscape art, landscape painter, Drafter, draughtsman and etcher. He was known mainly for his landscapes with trees, Italianate landscapes with ...

, to assist him in the design of these tapestries. In 1669–70 Genoels was sent to the southern Netherlands with Boudewijns and

Jan van Huchtenburg Jan, JaN or JAN may refer to: Acronyms * Jackson, Mississippi (Amtrak station), US, Amtrak station code JAN * Jackson-Evers International Airport, Mississippi, US, IATA code * Jabhat al-Nusra (JaN), a Syrian militant group * Japanese Article Num ...

to draw three views of the chateau of Mariemont to serve as tapestry designs for the Gobelins. The accounts of the Gobelins show that the three artists also received payments for their work on designs for a series of tapestries depicting the 'Months of the Year'. Adriaen Frans Boudewijns engraved numerous works by Genoels.Jane Turner (ed), ''Dictionary of Art'', Grove, 1996, p. 521 The engraver

Gérard Audran Gérard Audran (or Girard Audran) (2 August 164026 July 1703), was a French engraver of the Audran family, the third son of Claude Audran the Elder, Claude Audran. Life He was born in Lyon and was taught the first principles of design and engrav ...

taught him engraving while they were both working for Le Brun. Charles Le Brun nominated Genoels as a candidate member of the

Académie Royale An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the g ...

in Paris. Genoels was accepted in the Académie in 1665. He then received a house and a pension from the French king. Genoels was also paid by the king to collaborate on paintings by Charles Le Brun on the battles of

Alexander the Great Alexander III of Macedon (; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), most commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the Ancient Greece, ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia (ancient kingdom), Macedon. He succeeded his father Philip ...

. Genoels worked for various leading gentlemen of Paris including

François Michel Le Tellier François () is a French masculine given name and surname, equivalent to the English name Francis. People with the given name * François Amoudruz (1926–2020), French resistance fighter * François-Marie Arouet (better known as Voltaire; 1 ...

and

Louis, Grand Condé Louis II de Bourbon, Prince of Condé (8 September 1621 – 11 December 1686), known as (), was a French military commander. A tactician and strategist, he is regarded as one of France's greatest generals, particularly celebrated for his ...

(for his

Château de Chantilly The Château de Chantilly () is a historic French château located in the town of Chantilly, Oise, about 50 kilometres (30 miles) north of Paris. The site comprises two attached buildings: the Petit Château, built around 1560 for Anne de Montmore ...

), before returning to Flanders in 1669. Genoels returned in 1669 to Antwerp where he was registered in the local

Guild of St Luke The Guild of Saint Luke was the most common name for a city guild for painters and other artists in early modern Europe, especially in the Low Countries. They were named in honor of the Four Evangelists, Evangelist Saint Luke, Luke, the patron sa ...

1672. He painted in 1672–73 a painting depicting ''Minerva and the muses in a landscape'' for the painters' room of the Antwerp in order to be exempted from all official duties at the Guild for 25 years.

Travel to Italy

His desire to visit Rome was fulfilled in 1674 when he had earned enough money to finance this undertaking in a comfortable way. He set off with a group led by Marselis Liberechts, who had already been there and back. The other members of the group included

Pieter Verbrugghen II Pieter Verbrugghen the Younger or Pieter Verbrugghen II (1648, Antwerp – after 1691, Antwerp) was a Flemish sculptor, draughtsman, etcher and stone merchant.

(sculptor), Frans Moens of Middelburg, and a Canon of Liège. Further Albert Clouwet (engraver from Antwerp), Abraham van den Heuvel (merchant of Naples), and Soldanio (merchant of Venice). They left

Antwerp Antwerp (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of Antwerp Province, and the third-largest city in Belgium by area at , after ...

in September 1674 for

Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...

, and after 4–5 days took a boat down the

Rhine The Rhine ( ) is one of the List of rivers of Europe, major rivers in Europe. The river begins in the Swiss canton of Graubünden in the southeastern Swiss Alps. It forms part of the Swiss-Liechtenstein border, then part of the Austria–Swit ...

Mainz Mainz (; #Names and etymology, see below) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, and with around 223,000 inhabitants, it is List of cities in Germany by population, Germany's 35th-largest city. It lies in ...

, and from there a market ship along the Rhine to

Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...

. After a stay of 3 days they took a coach to

Augsburg Augsburg ( , ; ; ) is a city in the Bavaria, Bavarian part of Swabia, Germany, around west of the Bavarian capital Munich. It is a College town, university town and the regional seat of the Swabia (administrative region), Swabia with a well ...

, and from there by horse towards

Tirol Tyrol ( ; historically the Tyrole; ; ) is a historical region in the Alps of Northern Italy and western Austria. The area was historically the core of the County of Tyrol, part of the Holy Roman Empire, Austrian Empire and Austria-Hungary, f ...

, passing through

Innsbruck Innsbruck (; ) is the capital of Tyrol (federal state), Tyrol and the List of cities and towns in Austria, fifth-largest city in Austria. On the Inn (river), River Inn, at its junction with the Wipptal, Wipp Valley, which provides access to the ...

, and over the

Brenner Pass The Brenner Pass ( , shortly ; ) is a mountain pass over the Alps which forms the Austria-Italy border, border between Italy and Austria. It is one of the principal passes of the Alps, major passes of the Eastern Alpine range and has the lowes ...

Trento Trento ( or ; Ladin language, Ladin and ; ; ; ; ; ), also known in English as Trent, is a city on the Adige, Adige River in Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol in Italy. It is the capital of the Trentino, autonomous province of Trento. In the 16th ...

. From there they descended out of the Alps along the Brenta to

Treviso Treviso ( ; ; ) is a city and (municipality) in the Veneto region of northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Treviso and the municipality has 87.322 inhabitants (as of December 2024). Some 3,000 live within the Venetian wall ...

, and from there went by boat to

Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...

. They then traveled by boat along the Po to

Ferrara Ferrara (; ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Emilia-Romagna, Northern Italy, capital of the province of Ferrara. it had 132,009 inhabitants. It is situated northeast of Bologna, on the Po di Volano, a branch channel of the main ...

, and then went onwards to

Bologna Bologna ( , , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy. It is the List of cities in Italy, seventh most populous city in Italy, with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nationalities. Its M ...

. After 4 days they took a horse and wagon to various small cities along the way and finally arrived in

Abraham Genoels - Italianate landscape with figures by ruins

He became a member of the

Bentvueghels The Bentvueghels (Dutch for "Birds of a Feather") were a society of mostly Dutch and Flemish artists active in Rome from about 1620 to 1720. They are also known as the Schildersbent ("painters' clique"). Activities The members, which incl ...

, an association of mainly Dutch and Flemish artists active in Rome. It was common practice in the Bentvueghels to give each member a nickname, the so-called "bent name". Genoels' bent name was Archimedes. This name was given him because of Genoels' skills in geometry and perspective. Genoels sent Houbraken a copy of his "Bentbrief" which was signed by the witnesses to his membership ceremony. Genoels collaborated in Rome together with the Dutch painter

Caspar van Wittel Caspar van Wittel or Gaspar van Wittel (; born Jasper Adriaensz van Wittel; 1652 or 1653 – 13 September 1736), known in Italian as Gaspare Vanvitelli () or (), was a Dutch Republic, Dutch painter and draughtsman who had a long career in R ...

and may even have been his teacher.Caspar van Wittel's biographical details
on website dedicated to Caspar van Wittel

Return trip

In 1682 he undertook his return homewards to Antwerp. He rolled his paintings up and placed them inside clay models of antiquities and shipped these ahead. Then along with the engraver Laviron of Antwerp, and two French engravers Cavalier and Monier, he left on 25 April 1682 and travelled over

Siena Siena ( , ; traditionally spelled Sienna in English; ) is a city in Tuscany, in central Italy, and the capital of the province of Siena. It is the twelfth most populated city in the region by number of inhabitants, with a population of 52,991 ...

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

Pisa Pisa ( ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Tuscany, Central Italy, straddling the Arno just before it empties into the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa. Although Pisa is known worldwide for the Leaning Tow ...

Livorno Livorno () is a port city on the Ligurian Sea on the western coast of the Tuscany region of Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Livorno, having a population of 152,916 residents as of 2025. It is traditionally known in English as Leghorn ...

Genoa Genoa ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan city has 818,651 inhabitan ...

Nice Nice ( ; ) is a city in and the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative city limits, with a population of nearly one million Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...

, and then by mule to

Avignon Avignon (, , ; or , ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of southeastern France. Located on the left bank of the river Rhône, the Communes of France, commune had a ...

, and then up the

Rhône The Rhône ( , ; Occitan language, Occitan: ''Ròse''; Franco-Provençal, Arpitan: ''Rôno'') is a major river in France and Switzerland, rising in the Alps and flowing west and south through Lake Geneva and Southeastern France before dischargi ...

Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...

s, and then up the

Saône The Saône ( , ; ; ) is a river in eastern France (modern Regions of France, region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté). It is a right tributary of the Rhône, rising at Vioménil in the Vosges (department), Vosges Departments of France, department an ...

Villefranche-sur-Saône Villefranche-sur-Saône (, ; ) is a commune in the Rhône department in eastern France. It lies 1 mile (1.6 km) west of the river Saône, and is around north of Lyon. The inhabitants of the town are called ''Caladois''. History Villefran ...

. From there by horse over the route de

Tarare Tarare is a commune in the Rhône department in eastern France. It lies on the Turdine river, 28 miles west-northwest of Lyon by rail. History The city was founded at the beginning of the 12th century, as the priory of Tarare by the Savigny ...

over the mountains to

Roanne Roanne (; ; ) is a commune in the Loire department, central France. It is located northwest of Lyon on the river Loire. It has an important Museum, the ''Musée des Beaux-arts et d'Archéologie Joseph-Déchelette'' (French), with many Egypt ...

on the

Loire The Loire ( , , ; ; ; ; ) is the longest river in France and the 171st longest in the world. With a length of , it drains , more than a fifth of France's land, while its average discharge is only half that of the Rhône. It rises in the so ...

, and from there by boat to

Orléans Orléans (,"Orleans"
(US) and Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, where he stayed to await his shipment and see old friends. When his ship came in he made a present of a painting to

Charles le Brun Charles Le Brun (; baptised 24 February 1619 – 12 February 1690) was a French Painting, painter, Physiognomy, physiognomist, Aesthetics, art theorist, and a director of several art schools of his time. He served as a court painter to Louis XIV, ...

, and a much larger one to Colbert. After that he left by carriage to

Lille Lille (, ; ; ; ; ) is a city in the northern part of France, within French Flanders. Positioned along the Deûle river, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, region, the Prefectures in F ...

, and from there to

Tournai Tournai ( , ; ; ; , sometimes Anglicisation (linguistics), anglicised in older sources as "Tournay") is a city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality of Wallonia located in the Hainaut Province, Province of Hainaut, Belgium. It lies by ...

and

Ghent Ghent ( ; ; historically known as ''Gaunt'' in English) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the Provinces of Belgium, province ...

, arriving on 8 December 1682 in Antwerp, where he still lived when he was in correspondence with Houbraken. He became a member of the Guild of St. Luke there. Grand Garden View MET DP861135

He had the following pupils: Peeter Beethoven (1689–1690); Gillis Bisschop (1692–1693) and Ferdinandus Goffine (1694–1695). Genoels was very successful and died a rich man.

Work

In his lifetime, the paintings of Genoels were very highly regarded but his reputation dwindled after the eighteenth century. This may be the reason why so few of his major works have survived. The surviving paintings are classically structured landscapes with mythological scenes that are classicizing in the style of

Nicolas Poussin Nicolas Poussin (, , ; June 1594 – 19 November 1665) was a French painter who was a leading painter of the classical French Baroque style, although he spent most of his working life in Rome. Most of his works were on religious and mythologic ...

. His landscape drawings and etchings are still highly regarded. The well-structured compositions often depict Italianate architecture and small, sketchy figures set in a rich landscape. The drawings show determination and fluidity. Genoels's etchings show a distinctly Italian influence with their landscape owing much to the Roman Campagna, including the architectural ruins that he includes. His prints depict idyllic landscapes and his designs were etched by others, such as Adriaen Frans Boudewijns. His works are in the Italianate style and contrast with the local naturalism of artists who depicted grittier northern landscapes.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Genoels, Abraham 1640 births 1723 deaths Flemish Baroque painters Flemish landscape painters Flemish tapestry artists Members of the Bentvueghels Flemish engravers Painters from Antwerp Members of the Académie royale de peinture et de sculpture