Thomas Willeboirts Bosschaert (1613 – 23 January 1654) was a

Dutch Republic The United Provinces of the Netherlands, commonly referred to in historiography as the Dutch Republic, was a confederation that existed from 1579 until the Batavian Revolution in 1795. It was a predecessor state of the present-day Netherlands ...

-born

Flemish Baroque painter Flemish Baroque painting was a style of painting in the Southern Netherlands during Spanish control in the 16th and 17th centuries. The period roughly begins when the Dutch Republic was split from the Habsburg Spain regions to the south with th ...

Biography

Willeboirts Bosschaert was born in Bergen op Zoom, where his

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

family had moved in the late sixteenth century. He moved to Antwerp in 1628, and entered the studio of

Gerard Seghers Gerard SeghersGerard Seghers
at the

for eight years. In 1636 or 1637 he became an Antwerp citizen and joined the Guild of St. Luke. He died in

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 ...

Art

Willeboirts' style was heavily influenced by

Anthony van Dyck Sir Anthony van Dyck (; ; 22 March 1599 – 9 December 1641) was a Flemish Baroque painting, Flemish Baroque artist who became the leading court painter in England after success in the Spanish Netherlands and Italy. The seventh child of ...

, both in history and portrait, leading some scholars to suggest that Willeboirts might have studied in that studio. The artist ran his own studio with at least nine known pupils, and collaborated with other artists of the time such as

Daniel Seghers Daniel Seghers (3December 15902November 1661) was a Flemish Jesuit brother and Flemish Baroque painter, painter who specialized in flower still lifes. He is particularly well known for his contributions to the genre of flower garland painting.I ...

Paul de Vos Paul de Vos (1591/92, or 1595 in Hulst – 30 June 1678 in Antwerp) was a Flemish Baroque painter who specialized in mainly in compositions of animals, hunting scenes and still lifes. He worked for an elite clientele and was a regular collaborat ...

Jan Fyt Jan Fijt, Jan Fijt or Johannes Fijt (or Fyt) (19 August 1609 – 11 September 1661) was a Flemish Baroque painter, draughtsman and etcher. One of the leading still life and animaliers of the 17th century, he was known for his refined flower an ...

Jan van den Hoecke Jan van den Hoecke (baptised on 4 August 1611 – 1651) was a Flemish painter, draughtsman and designer of wall tapestries. He was one of the principal assistants in Rubens' studio in the 1630s. He later traveled to Italy where he resided for a ...

Frans Snyders Frans Snyders or Frans Snijders (11November 157919August 1657) was a Flemish painter of animals, hunting scenes, market scenes, and still lifes. A versatile artist, his works depict all sorts of foods, utensils, and tableware and wide assortment ...

, and

Adriaen van Utrecht Adriaen van Utrecht (Antwerp, 12 January 1599 – 1652) was a Flemish painter known mainly for his sumptuous banquet still lifes, game and fruit still lifes, fruit garlands, market and kitchen scenes and depictions of live poultry in farmyards. ...

, as well as with

Peter Paul Rubens Sir Peter Paul Rubens ( ; ; 28 June 1577 – 30 May 1640) was a Flemish painting, Flemish artist and diplomat. He is considered the most influential artist of the Flemish Baroque painting, Flemish Baroque tradition. Rubens' highly charged comp ...

on the decoration series for

Philip IV of Spain Philip IV (, ; 8 April 160517 September 1665), also called the Planet King (Spanish: ''Rey Planeta''), was King of Spain from 1621 to his death and (as Philip III) King of Portugal from 1621 to 1640. Philip is remembered for his patronage of the ...

's ''

Torre de la Parada The Torre de la Parada is a former hunting lodge that was located in present-day Monte de El Pardo in Fuencarral-El Pardo, near the Royal Palace of El Pardo, some way outside Madrid in the Sierra de Guadarrama. It was mostly destroyed by fire ...

'' (1636–1638). Between 1641 and 1647 he also worked for the Dutch

stadtholder In the Low Countries, a stadtholder ( ) was a steward, first appointed as a medieval official and ultimately functioning as a national leader. The ''stadtholder'' was the replacement of the duke or count of a province during the Burgundian and ...

Frederik Hendrik of Orange Frederick Henry (; 29 January 1584 – 14 March 1647) was the sovereign prince of Orange and stadtholder of Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders, and Overijssel in the Dutch Republic from his older half-brother's death on 23 April 1625 until his ...

. Hendrik's widow,

Amalia von Solms Amalia of Solms-Braunfels (31 August 1602 – 8 September 1675) was Princess of Orange by marriage to Frederick Henry, Prince of Orange. She acted as the political adviser of her spouse during his reign, and acted as his de facto deputy and regent ...

also commissioned a work from Willeboirts for the decorations of the ''Oranjezaal'' (Orange Room) in the

Huis ten Bosch Huis ten Bosch (, ; ) is a royal palace in The Hague, Netherlands. It is one of three official residences of the Dutch monarch; the two others being the Noordeinde Palace in The Hague and the Royal Palace of Amsterdam. Huis ten Bosch was th ...

, a decorative program that included both Dutch and Flemish masters. In 1653, a competition was held in Antwerp between him and

Cornelis Schut Cornelis Schut (13 May 1597 – 29 April 1655) was a Flemish painter, drawing, draughtsman, engraver and tapestry designer who specialized in religious and mythological scenes. Presumed to have trained under Rubens, he treated Counter-Refor ...

to create an altarpiece with money that had been allocated for Van Dyck before his death; Willeboirts lost to Schut's painting, ''The Martyrdom of St. George''. Willeboirts made the

grisaille Grisaille ( or ; , from ''gris'' 'grey') means in general any European painting that is painted in grey. History Giotto used grisaille in the lower registers of his frescoes in the Scrovegni Chapel in Padua () and Robert Campin, Jan van Ey ...

centerpieces for two of

garland paintings. For one of these Seghers was awarded with a solid gold

maulstick A maulstick or mahlstick is a stick with a soft leather or padded head used by painters to support the working hand with a paintbrush or pen. The word derives from the German and Dutch ''Malstock'' or ''maalstok'' 'painting stick', from ''malen' ...

, and Willeboirts was given a hundred guilders. Image:Daniel Seghers Garland with Virgin 1645 paid with gold maulstick 1646.JPG,

''Garland with Virgin'', 1645, paid for with gold maulstick.This was the painting

Constantijn Huygens Sir Constantijn Huygens, Lord of Zuilichem ( , , ; 4 September 159628 March 1687), was a Dutch Golden Age poet and composer. He was also secretary to two Princes of Orange: Frederick Henry and William II, and the father of the scientist C ...

referred to i
Huygens praise of Seghers's painted flowers (in Latin), IN PRAESTANTISSIMI PICTORIS DAN. SEGHERI ROSAS
File:Study of a Boy's Head, made 1644-1645, by Thomas Willeboirts Bosschaert (1613 or 1614-1654). Nationalmuseum, Stockholm, Sweden.jpg, Study of a Boy's Head, 1644–1645, by Thomas Willeboirts Bosschaert. Nationalmuseum, Stockholm, Sweden

Notes

References

* Frans Baudouin, "Van Dyck's Last Religious Commission: An Altarpiece for Antwerp Cathedral," in ''Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes'', Vol. 57. (1994), pp. 175–190. * Axel Heinrich, ''Thomas Willeboirts Bosschaert (1613/14-1654). Ein flämischer Nachfolger Van Dycks''. Turnhout: Brepols Publishers, 2003. * * Hans Vlieghe. "Thoughts on Van Dyck's Early Fame and Influence in Flanders," in: ''Van Dyck 350. Studies in the History of Art, Center for Advanced Study in the Visual Arts'', vol. 46, edited by Susan J. Barnes and Arthur K. Wheelock Jr., National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1994, pp. 198–220. {{DEFAULTSORT:Willeboirts Bosschaert, Thomas 1613 births 1654 deaths People from Bergen op Zoom Painters from North Brabant Flemish Baroque painters Dutch painters Dutch male painters Painters from Antwerp Pupils of Peter Paul Rubens