Petrus van Schendel

Petrus van Schendel (* April 21, 1806 in Terheijden (North Brabant), † December 28, 1870 in Brussels) was a Belgian painter and etcher.

He was the son of Gijsbertus of Schendel and Geertruida Brox. From 1822 to 1828, he studied at the Antwerp Academy of Fine Arts. Van Schendel was three times married:

• On July 23, 1830, he married Elizabeth Catherine, with whom he had thirteen children.
• On April 30, 1851, he went with Johanna Eyrond a marriage, they had two children.
• On February 16, 1854 he married Isabelle of Welder, widow of Sylvester Nique.

In addition to portraits, landscapes and seascapes, he mainly painted biblical scenes, and genre scenes. He was known for his market scenes, but was also a successful portrait painter. One of his biggest successes was the painting " Birth of Christ" (created 1858-1860 ), which was exhibited in London.

From 1834 onwards van Schendel was a member of the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Amsterdam.