Frans Pourbus the Younger

Frans Pourbus the Younger or Frans Pourbus (II) (Antwerp, 1569 – Paris, 1622)<ref name=rkd>Frans Pourbus (II) at the Netherlands Institute for Art History</ref> was a Flemish painter, specialised in portrait painting. He was the third generation of a prominent family of religious and portrait painters.<ref name=raff>Raffaella Morselli, Frans Pourbus in Mantua (1600-1608), London 2015, Catalogue of the Weiss Gallery, Maastricht 2015: essay on Pourbus in Mantua and a new portrait of Margherita Gonzaga of Lorena (1606), p. 10</ref>

Pourbus was a successful court painter for, successively, the Archdukes in Brussels, the Gonzaga Duke of Mantua (1600–1609), and then the French court. The majority of his work was royal portraits, many full-length, but he also painted some altarpieces. He painted the Brussels-based Spanish Regents of the Netherlands, the Duke of Mantua and Marie de' Medici, Queen of France.

Pourbus produced portraits that were pleasing to his patrons, but somewhat static with no dramatic situations, or landscape backgrounds.<ref name=Oppenheimer/> He is noted for his depiction of costume, jewellery and draperies, as in his portrait of Henry IV of France (below).<ref name=Berger/><ref name=Your-Paintings/>

Life

Frans was born in Antwerp as the son of Frans the Elder (1545 – 1581) and Suzanna Floris. Both his parents came from prominent artist families.<ref name=gent>Gaëlle Brackez, Frans Pourbus de oudere (1545-1581) Een blik op zijn leven en oeuvre volume i: tekst, Masterproef voorgelegd aan de Faculteit Letteren en Wijsbegeerte, Vakgroep Kunst -, Muziek- en Theaterwetenschappen, voor het verkrijgen van de graad van Master, Universiteit Gent Academiejaar 2011 -2012 Template:In lang</ref> His father was an important portrait and genre painter and his grandfather Pieter Pourbus (1523 – 1584) was the leading portrait and history painter in Bruges in the second half of the 16th century.<ref name=raff/> His mother was a niece of his father's master, the Antwerp painter Frans Floris and daughter of Cornelis Floris de Vriendt, an influential sculptor and architect.<ref name=gent/> He had two younger sisters. His mother died in 1674 after which his father remarried and had another son.<ref name=gent/> His father died at the young age of 36 when Frans was only 12. There is no record of his artistic training, but he was likely an apprentice in his grandfather's workshop. He was admitted as a master in the Guild of St. Luke of Antwerp in the guild year 1591–92, when he was 22.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

At the end of the 16th century, he worked for Archduke Albert and the Infanta Isabella in Brussels.<ref name=Your-Paintings/> On 27 June 1600, he was paid for a portrait of the Infanta. This work was subsequently presented to Anne of Denmark (wife of James VI and I) by the Ambassador of the Spanish Netherlands and remains in the Royal Collection until today.<ref name=royal/>

In 1600, he was recruited as court painter in Mantua by Vincenzo Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua who met him when Gonzaga was on a visit to the Netherlands buying works of art.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Within months of his appointment, Peter Paul Rubens arrived at the Mantuan court, but there is no evidence of hostility between the two.<ref name=Oppenheimer>Template:Cite book</ref> In 1609, Pourbus moved to Paris at the instigation of Marie de' Medici, Queen of France.<ref name=Your-Paintings>Your Paintings</ref> It was here that he perfected his style.<ref name=Berger>Template:Cite book</ref> He worked as Marie de' Medici, Queen of France's court painter until his death.

Death

He died in Paris and was buried on 19 February 1622.The exact date of his death is unknown.<ref name=rkd/>

Work

Works of his can be found in the Royal Collection, the National Museum in Warsaw, the Louvre, the Prado, the Rijksmuseum, the Royal College of Art and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.<ref>Murray, P. & L. (1996), Dictionary of art and artists. Penguin Books. Template:ISBN.</ref><ref name=royal>Template:Royal Collection</ref>

Selected works

• Portrait of Eleonora de' Medici Gonzaga, 1600–1602
  Portrait of Eleonora de' Medici Gonzaga, 1600–1602
• Louis XIII, King of France (with the Sash and Badge of the Order of Saint Esprit)
  Louis XIII, King of France (with the Sash and Badge of the Order of Saint Esprit)
• Councilors of Paris
  Councilors of Paris
• Margarita Gonzaga
  Margarita Gonzaga
• Portrait of Guillaume du Vair, Magistrate of the Parliament, Keeper of the Seals of France under Louis XIII
  Portrait of Guillaume du Vair, Magistrate of the Parliament, Keeper of the Seals of France under Louis XIII
• Anne of Austria
  Anne of Austria
• Portrait of the Italian poet Giambattista Marino
  Portrait of the Italian poet Giambattista Marino
• Portrait of a man
  Portrait of a man
• Portrait of Margherita Gonzaga
  Portrait of Margherita Gonzaga
• Infanta Isabella
  Infanta Isabella
• Marie de' Medici
  Marie de' Medici
• St Francis of Assisi receiving the stigmata
  St Francis of Assisi receiving the stigmata

References

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External links

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