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Willem Forchondt, or Guillam Forchondt the Elder (1608–1678) was a Flemish painter, cabinet maker and art dealer. He operated a successful painting workshop and a profitable are dealership which extended throughout Europe through the satellite offices operated by his sons in Vienna, Lisbon and Cadiz. His international art dealership played an important role in the spread of Flemish Baroque art in Europe and South-America.Sandra van Ginhoven, ''Guilliam Forchondt and the role of the Greater Netherlands in the dissemination of Flemish art in Latin America''
De Zeventiende Eeuw 31 (2015), p. 159-178 He changed the relationship between art dealer and artist by becoming himself involved in the organisation of the art production process.

Life

He was born in Antwerp as the son of the ebony worker and art dealer Melchior Forchondt the Elder, originally from Breslau, and the brother of Melchior the Younger.Guilliam Forchondt
at the Netherlands Institute for Art History Melchior the Elder made his name dealing in ebony cabinets that were decorated with oil paintings, that he commissioned from members of the Antwerp Guild of St. Luke.

Young Guillam grew up in this artistic milieu and became a member of the guild in 1632 as "winemaster", which meant his father was still a member at the time. Like his father he was also skilled as a maker of cabinets. When his father died in 1633 Guillam took over the business. He married Maria Lemmens on 3 August 1636. The couple had 8 children among whom are known:

*Alexander (1643–1683) trained as a pharmacist and became an art dealer for his father in Vienna while also being court jeweler for Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor. He takes over the leadership of the Forchondt firm when his father dies in 1670 until he dies himself in 1683.
*Melchior III (1641–1708) became a painter and goldsmith and stayed in Venice, Paris, Vienna, Prague, Linz and Passau
* Marcus (1651–1706) became a painter and jeweler and stayed in Vienna and Linz
*Susanna (1637–1711) never married and left a legacy including the family archives
*Marie-Anna
*Justo travelled to Lisbon and later Cadiz where he stayed on for the family business until his return to Antwerp in 1707. were sold off.
*Andreas (1650-1675) also travelled to Cadiz He was internationally renowned as an art dealer and financier. He lived in the former house of Rubens in the centre of Antwerp. Upon his death in 1710 the business activities of Forchondt family ceased and its assets were distributed.
*Guilliam Forchondt the Younger (1645–after 1677) was the only son to train as a painter. He traveled first with his brothers to Vienna and Linz and later to Lisbon and Cadiz. He would later carry on the family business possibly together with his mother.Stefan de Vries, ''Le commerce de l’art entre les Flandres et l’Espagne, 1648-1713'', Master thesis 1 : Histoire de l’art Université Paris Sorbonne-Paris IV UFR Histoire de l’Art et Archéologie, 2007 Forchondt
family papers of Giulliam Forchondt (sr) with his correspondents Johan Lacroy and Anna Nonnius, Stadsarchief Antwerpen, inv.nr. IB#1091

With the help of this network of family connections in Europe Forchondt was able to turn his father's business into an international art and luxury goods enterprise. The many clients of the Forchondt firm included prominent personalities of the time such as the Emperor of Austria and the Princes of Liechtenstein. Around 1700 Hans-Adam I, Prince of Liechtenstein acquired from the Forchondt firm two masterpieces of Rubens: the '' Massacre of the Innocents'' and ''Samson and Delilah''.Press release on record breaking sale amount
for Rubens ''Massacre of the Innocents''

Guillam Forchondt died in Antwerp.

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As a painter Forchondt worked in the Flemish Baroque style of Rubens, Jan Brueghel the Younger, Joos de Momper and David Teniers the Younger clearly adapting his output to the demand in the market. Many of his works can be regarded as pastiches or reduced copies of works by Rubens. He is known to have collaborated on compositions with other painters such as Willem van Herp who painted the staffage. Forchondt enjoyed a high reputation for his design drawings for cabinets.Bert De Munck, Steven L. Kaplan, Hugo Soly, ''Learning on the Shop Floor: Historical Perspectives on Apprenticeship'', Berghahn Books, 2007, p. 99-110

In the 1670s Flanders suffered a severe economic downturn due mostly to an invasion by the French. Guillam Forchondt and his brother Melchior the Younger weathered the crisis by becoming art entrepreneurs. They hired lesser painters and supplied them with the necessary materials to create group projects such as large commissioned copies of famous works, or large decorative objects as their father had dealt in. At one point, the ''Brothers Forchondt'' had 60 painters in their service for export to France, Austria, Spain and Portugal. Among the painters in their employ were Franciscus Hamers who became a member of the guild in 1674, and Peter van de Velde. Other painters such as Willem van Herp, Michiel II Coignet, Abraham Willemsens, Pieter van Lint, Simon de Vos, Alexander Casteels the Elder regularly worked for the Forchondts on various commissions.Abraham Willemsens (active 1627-1672), A peasant family in a yard
op de site van Christie'sSandra van Ginhoven, ''Connecting Art Markets: Guilliam Forchondt’s Dealership in Antwerp (c.1632–78) and the Overseas Paintings Trade'', BRILL, 2016, p. 94, 136, 138, 254, 284

There was at that time a great demand abroad and in particular in Spain for paintings in the style of the great Flemish masters such as Rubens and Anthony van Dyck. Art dealers such as the Forchondts who had a local representation in various foreign countries facilitated the trade in these paintings. The religious works were often painted on copper, a painting medium that was much appreciated in Spain, both because of its durability and its glossy finish. The group works created under the direction of the Forchondt firm played an important role in the spread of paintings on copper in Mexico where they were exported through Spain's trade with Latin America.Jesús Ángel Sánchez Rivera, ''Sobre una serie de cobres flamencos de pintores en la estela de Rubens''
Anales de Historia del Arte, vol. extraordinario: ''Saberes artísticos bajo signo y designios del «Urbinate»'' (2011), pp. 483-505]

Though he probably did his colleagues in the Guild a service by creating production work and new export channels for sales, he was never referred to by name by the Dutch artist biographer Arnold Houbraken, who called him and his family the ''keelbeulen'' (cut throats) of Antwerp. Other artists and craftsmen likely regarded art entrepreneurs like Forchondt as persons who interfered in the artistic process without actually carrying out any manual work. The small ebony masters in Antwerp became so frustrated with Forchondt that they commenced litigation requiring that like them he pass a master test in order to retain his Guild membership. They likely did this to confirm the importance of this test to their status as craftsmen at a time when the more entrepreneurial organization of their craft (by dealers like Forchondt) threatened their position. As the son of a master, Forchondt had not undertaken any formal apprenticeship and likely had avoided the master test.

References

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Forchondt, Guillam 1
1608 births
1678 deaths
Flemish Baroque painters
Flemish history painters
Flemish art dealers
Flemish landscape painters
Artists from Antwerp
Painters from Antwerp