Frans Francken I or Frans Francken the Elder (1542,

Herentals Herentals () is a city in the province of Antwerp. The municipality comprises the city of Herentals proper and the towns of Morkhoven and . In 2021, Herentals had a total population of 28.194. The total area is . Saint Waltrude is the patron sain ...

– 1616, Antwerp) was a

Flemish Flemish (''Vlaams'') is a Low Franconian dialect cluster of the Dutch language. It is sometimes referred to as Flemish Dutch (), Belgian Dutch ( ), or Southern Dutch (). Flemish is native to Flanders, a historical region in northern Belgium ...

painter who was one of the principal painters in Antwerp during the Counter-Reformation.Ursula Härting. "Francken."
Grove Art Online. Oxford Art Online. Oxford University Press. Web. 10 May. 2014 He is mainly known for his large altarpieces and allegorical paintings. He was a member of the Francken dynasty of painters that played an important role in the Antwerp art scene in the 17th century.Frans Francken (I)
at the

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

Life

Francken was born in Herentals as the son of Nicholas Francken, an obscure painter from Herentals. His father later settled in Antwerp and was likely his first teacher. He became a master of the Antwerp

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 Evangelist Luke, the patron saint of artists, who was identi ...

in 1567 and was its deacon in 1587. His younger brothers

Hieronymus Francken I Hieronymus Francken I or Hieronymus Francken the Elder (ca. 1540, Herentals–1610, Paris) was a Flemish painter and an important member of the Francken family of artists. After training in Antwerp, he was mainly active in France, where h ...

and

Ambrosius Francken I Ambrosius Francken I (1544–1618) was a Flemish painter known for his religious works and historical allegories painted in a late Mannerist style. He was a prominent member of the Francken family of artists, which played a very important r ...

both became successful painters. The early biographer

Karel van Mander Karel van Mander (I) or Carel van Mander I (May 1548 – 2 September 1606) was a Flemish painter, poet, art historian and art theoretician, who established himself in the Dutch Republic in the latter part of his life. He is mainly remember ...

stated that Frans Francken the Elder was a pupil of the leading Antwerp

Mannerist Mannerism, which may also be known as Late Renaissance, is a style in European art that emerged in the later years of the Italian High Renaissance around 1520, spreading by about 1530 and lasting until about the end of the 16th century in Ita ...

painter

Frans Floris Frans Floris, Frans Floris the Elder or Frans Floris de Vriendt (17 April 15191 October 1570) was a Flemish painter, draughtsman, print artist and tapestry designer. He is mainly known for his history paintings, allegorical scenes and portraits.< ...

.Frans Francken
in

's ''

Schilder-boeck or is a book written by the Flemish writer and painter Karel van Mander first published in 1604 in Haarlem in the Dutch Republic, where van Mander resided. The book is written in 17th-century Dutch and its title is commonly translated into En ...

'', 1604 In 1571 he collaborated with his older brother Hieronymus on a large ''Adoration of the Magi'' triptych (Brussels,

Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium The Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium (french: Musées royaux des Beaux-Arts de Belgique, nl, Koninklijke Musea voor Schone Kunsten van België) are a group of art museums in Brussels, Belgium. They include six museums: the Oldmasters Mus ...

and London, Brompton Oratory) which bears his monogram as well as that of his younger brother Frans. The brothers included self-portraits in profile: Hieronymus on the left side and Frans on the right side of the triptych.Peeters, Natasja, ''Connecting people : documenting the activities of the Antwerp painter Hieronymus Francken, and other Floris disciples, in Paris after 1566'', in: Les échanges artistiques entre les anciens Pays-Bas et la France, 1482 - 1814 : actes du colloque international organisé par l'Institut de recherches historiques du Septentrion - UMR CNRS 8529 - Université de Lille 3 au Palais des Beaux-Arts de Lille les 28-29-30 mai 2008 (2010), 117-128 Frans Francken married Elisabeth Mertens. At the time of his death in 1619 their surviving children were Thomas, Frans, Hieronymus, Ambrosius II, Magdalena and Elisabeth. His pupils included his son Frans, Gortzius Geldorp,

Herman van der Mast Herman van der Mast (c. 1550 – 1610) was a Dutch Renaissance painter from the Northern Netherlands. What little we know about Mast are the notes related by Karel van Mander in his Schilder-boeck, who mentioned him as part of a long list of pup ...

and Jan de Wael.

Work

Frans Francken the Elder worked mainly on altar pieces as there was a great demand for such works as a result of the

iconoclasm Iconoclasm (from Ancient Greek, Greek: grc, wikt:εἰκών, εἰκών, lit=figure, icon, translit=eikṓn, label=none + grc, wikt:κλάω, κλάω, lit=to break, translit=kláō, label=none)From grc, wikt:εἰκών, εἰκών + wi ...

of the

Calvinist Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John Ca ...

s. His masterpiece is a triptych entitled '' Christ among the Scribes'', which was made for the

Antwerp Cathedral The Cathedral of Our Lady ( nl, Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekathedraal) is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Antwerp, Belgium. Today's see of the Diocese of Antwerp started in 1352 and, although the first stage of construction was ended in 1521, has never bee ...

in 1587. The figures are rather wooden in the late Mannerist style. However, the heads show the artist’s skill for portraiture. Frans Francken I was also a portrait painter and a few court portraits have been attributed to him. His earliest paintings were in the style of Frans Floris but after 1600 he developed his own style which displayed classicising characteristics not unlike those in the work of

Otto van Veen Otto van Veen, also known by his Latinized name Otto Venius or Octavius Vaenius (1556 – 6 May 1629), was a painter, draughtsman, and humanist active primarily in Antwerp and Brussels in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. He is known fo ...

.Franks Francken I, in: Walter A. Liedtke, ''Flemish Paintings in the Metropolitan Museum of Art'', Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1984, p. 224 Frans Francken the Elder painted small-scale cabinet pictures, a genre in which his sons Frans and Hieronymus would excel. He was further known for his allegorical paintings and his son Frans would continue this tradition. An example of an allegorical painting is '' The Battle of Time against Death'' in the Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen.

Family tree

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Francken, Frans 1 1542 births 1616 deaths Flemish Renaissance painters Flemish history painters Painters from Antwerp Frans