Hieronymus Francken I or Hieronymus Francken the Elder [1] (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 he became court painter at the French court. His compositions with elegant groups of dancing figures, musicians and courtiers anticipate the development of this genre in the 17th century. [2]
Hieronymus Francken I was born in Herentals as the son of Nicolaes Francken, a painter from Herentals. [3] His father later settled in Antwerp and was likely his first teacher. [4] His brothers Frans Francken I and Ambrosius Francken I both became successful painters.
According to the early 17th century biographer Karel van Mander, who referred to him three times using three different names, i.e. Ieroon Francken van Herenthals, Ieroon Vrancks, and Ieroon Franck, Francken was a pupil of Frans Floris. [5] He probably went to work with Floris in the early 1560s. [6] It is unclear whether he traveled to Italy after his training in Antwerp. Such a trip is suggested by a work of his hand dated 1565 that depicts a scene from the Carnival of Venice (in the Suermondt-Ludwig-Museum in Aachen). [4]
From 1566 to 1572 he was in France where he was one of the masters employed to decorate the Palace of Fontainebleau. [7] Cornelis Floris, the Antwerp architect and brother of Francken's master Frans Floris, sent his son to Paris in 1568 to train with Hieronymus Francken I. [4] Hieronymus became a master in Paris in 1570 and a naturalized French citizen in 1572. [6] This did not stop him from returning to Antwerp regularly. In 1571 he was back in Antwerp to finish the large Adoration of the Magi triptych (Brussels, Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium and London, Brompton Oratory) that Frans Floris had left unfinished when he died in 1570. [8] His younger brother Frans collaborated on this commission. The brothers included self-portraits in profile: Hieronymus on the left side panel and Frans on the right side panel of the triptych. [6]
In 1574 he is documented in Antwerp. [9] From 1578 until his death Hieronymus lived in Paris and Fontainebleau. In 1578 hes married for the second time. His second wife was Françoise Miraille, the daughter of an Italian embroiderer who was also concierge of Madame de la Roche-sur-Yon in Tournon Street. The couple went on to have seven children. In 1619 four of his children were recorded as still being alive. [9] His daughter Isabella was a history and genre painter. [10] He was successful and frequented higher middle-class circles. It is possibly that he also operated a side business as an art dealer. [6]
In 1585, Hieronymus was commissioned to paint an Adoration of the Shepherds by Jacques-Auguste de Thou of the illustrious French De Thou family. It was made for the no longer extant church of the Cordeliers (now in the Notre-Dame de Paris cathedral). He included a self-portrait as a man holding a lance is on the far left hand side. The patron Jacques-Auguste de Thou is kneeling on the left. [6] Hieronymus was appointed court painter to the French court in 1594. [9] His service at the French court had already started before this date. In the course of his career he served a large number of kings and queens including Louise de Lorraine (in 1578, 1587 and 1588), Henry III of France (in 1583), the Queen-mother Catherine de' Medici (in 1586, 1600 and 1603) and Henry IV of France (in 1603 and 1610) as well as Marie de' Medici (in 1603). Near the end of his life, in 1607, Hieronymus was elevated to the nobility and could from then onwards refer to himself as 'noble homme, peintre du roy' ('nobleman, painter to the king'). [6]
Hieronymus Francken I was the teacher of Abraham Bloemaert during Bloemaert's short stay in Paris and Fontainebleau from 1581 to 1583. [11]
Hieronymus Francken I painted religious works, that were idealistic and fully in line with 16th-century taste. He also painted allegorical works and groups of dancers at the court. Along with the work of Lodewijk Toeput, these compositions with elegant groups of dancing figures, musicians and courtiers of Francken anticipate the development of this genre in the 17th century, especially in the work of his nephew Frans Francken II. [4]
He also painted portraits. A self-portrait has been preserved and he included self-portraits in various of his history paintings. In 1602, Hieronymus made a group-portrait of the senior merchants, city officers and aldermen of Paris (current location unknown, probably destroyed in 1871). [6]
His paintings are in an elegant Mannerist style and unite elements of the Antwerp, Italian (especially Venetian) and French styles, although the influence of Fontainebleau is the most pronounced. [8]
Hieronymus was much acclaimed for his anatomical drawings, as is confirmed by Philip Galle's series of prints published under the title Instruction et fondements de bien pourtraire. He likely also made designs for prints. A signed Let the children come unto me was engraved by Peeter Baltens but no other print design by his hand is known. [6]
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Herentals is a city in the province of Antwerp. The municipality comprises the city of Herentals proper and the towns of Morkhoven and Noorderwijk. In 2022, Herentals had a total population of 28.455. The total area is 48.56 km2 (18.75 sq mi). Saint Waltrude is the patron saint of the city.
Abraham Bloemaert was a Dutch painter and printmaker who used etching and engraving. He initially worked in the style of the "Haarlem Mannerists", but by the beginning of the 17th-century altered his style in line with the new Baroque style that was then developing. He mostly painted history subjects and some landscapes. He was an important teacher, who trained most of the Utrecht Caravaggisti.
Frans Floris, Frans Floris the Elder or Frans Floris de Vriendt was a Flemish painter, draughtsman, print artist and tapestry designer. He is mainly known for his history paintings, allegorical scenes and portraits. He played an important role in the movement in Northern Renaissance painting referred to as Romanism. The Romanists had typically travelled to Italy to study the works of leading Italian High Renaissance artists such as Michelangelo, Raphael and their followers. Their art assimilated these Italian influences into the Northern painting tradition.
The Francken family was a family of artists the members of which were mainly active in Antwerp in the 16th and 17th centuries. Many of the members over three generations had the same first names Frans, Hieronymus and Ambrosius. While this may at the time have been effective as a marketing method by ensuring continuity of the family business, today's legacy is some confusion in the attribution of paintings, which often do not differ widely in style or execution between the various family members. The confusion is exacerbated by the signing practices of some family members: when Frans I's son Frans II reached his majority and began to sign paintings, Frans I started to add "the elder" to his signature to distinguish himself from his son, who then signed his works as "the younger". This happened again in the next generation when Frans II's son Frans III reached his majority. Frans II then started to sign his works with the elder, while Frans III used Frans the younger.
Frans Pourbus the Elder was a Flemish Renaissance painter who is known primarily for his portraits and religious compositions, as well as a few genre scenes. He was the son of the prominent Bruges painter and cartographer Pieter Pourbus and the father of Frans Pourbus the Younger who became an international portraitist of the European ruling class.
Hieronymus Cock, or Hieronymus Wellens de Cock was a Flemish painter and etcher as well as a publisher and distributor of prints. Cock is regarded as one of the most important print publishers of his time in northern Europe. His publishing house played a key role in the transformation of printmaking from an activity of individual artists and craftsmen into an industry based on division of labour. His house published more than 1,100 prints between 1548 and his death in 1570, a vast number by earlier standards.
Frans Francken the Younger was a Flemish painter and the best-known and most prolific member of the large Francken family of artists. He painted large altarpieces for churches as well as smaller historical, mythological and allegorical scenes. His depictions of collectors' cabinets established a popular new genre of art in the era. Francken often collaborated with other artists, adding figures and narrative elements to scenes created by specialists in landscape, architectural and floral still life paintings.
Frans Francken I or Frans Francken the Elder was a Flemish painter who was one of the principal painters in Antwerp during the Counter-Reformation. 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 late 16th century and the 17th century.
Cornelis or Cornelius Ketel was a Dutch Mannerist painter, active in Elizabethan London from 1573 to 1581, and in Amsterdam till his death. Ketel, known essentially as a portrait-painter, was also a poet and orator, and from 1595 a sculptor as well.
Anthonie Blocklandt van Montfoort, Anthonie van Blocklandt or Anthonie van Montfoort was a Dutch painter.
Gillis Mostaert the Elder was a Flemish Renaissance painter and draughtsman active in Antwerp in the second half of the 16th century. He was a versatile artist who worked in various genres including landscape, genre and history painting. Gillis Mostaert was known in particular for his winter landscapes and his scenes with fires and nocturnal scenes and his works in this genre were among the most sought after pieces of his time. The artist operated a large workshop in Antwerp, which supplied works to prominent patrons. He was a regular collaborator with leading Antwerp artists of his time.
Joos de Beer was an Early Dutch painter from Utrecht.
Fransoys or Frans Menton (c.1550–1615) was a Dutch Golden Age portrait painter.
Gortzius Geldorp (1553–1618) was a Flemish Renaissance artist who was active in Germany where he distinguished himself through his portrait paintings.
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 role in the Flemish art scene from the late 16th to middle 17th century.
Constantijn Francken or Konstantijn Francken, was a Flemish Baroque painter and the final painter in the long line of the Francken family of artists. He is mainly known for his battle scenes. He worked for a long time in Paris where he was a court painter to the King and mainly painted portraits.
Hieronymus Francken the Younger or Hieronymus II was a Flemish painter and one of the most prominent members of the large Francken family of artists. Along with his brother Frans Francken II he played an important role in the development of new genres in Flemish art in the early 17th century. He was a prolific artist with a wide range who painted religious scenes, allegorical subjects, portraits, fruit pieces, genre scenes, architectural paintings and art galleries.
Isabella Francken was a Flemish painter who was active in the first part of the 17th century. She was a member of the large Francken family of artists. Only a few works are currently attributed to her. These are history, landscape, and genre paintings, which are in the style representative of the Francken family workshop.
Herman van der Mast was a Dutch Renaissance painter from the Netherlands.
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