Thomas Willeboirts Bosschaert

Thomas Willeboirts Bosschaert (1613, Bergen op Zoom - 23 January 1654, Antwerp) was a Dutch-born Flemish Baroque painter.

Willeboirts Bosschaert's Catholic family had moved to Bergen op Zoom in the late sixteenth-century. He moved to Antwerp in 1628, and entered the studio of Gerard Seghers for eight years. In 1636 or 1637 he became an Antwerp citizen and joined the Guild of St. Luke.

His style is heavily influenced by Anthony van Dyck, both in history and portrait, leading some scholars to suggest that Willeboirts might have studied in that studio. [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. 210, 214.] The artist ran his own studio with at least nine known pupils, and collaborated with other artists of the time such as Daniel Seghers, Paul de Vos, Jan Fyt, Jan van den Hoecke, Frans Snyders and Adriaen van Utrecht, as well as with Peter Paul Rubens on the "Torre de la Parada" series (1636 – 1638). Between 1641 and 1647 he also worked for the Dutch stadtholder Frederik Hendrik of Orange. Hendrik's widow, Amalia von Solms also commissioned a work from Willeboirts for the decorations of the "Oranjezaal" (Orange Room) in the Huis ten Bosch, a decorative program that included both Dutch and Flemish masters. In 1653, a competition was held in Antwerp between him and Cornelis Schut to create an altarpiece with money that had been allocated for Van Dyck before his death. Schut's painting, "The Martyrdom of St. George" (Royal Museum of Fine Arts, Antwerp), won. [Frans Baudouin, "Van Dyck's Last Religious Commission: An Altarpiece for Antwerp Cathedral," in "Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes", Vol. 57. (1994), p. 187.]

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. ISBN 2-503-51143-0
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* 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.