Justus Sustermans

Justus Sustermans ( born September 28, 1597 Antwerp, † April 23, 1681 in Florence), also known as Giusto Sustermans known, was a Flemish painter of the Baroque.

Sustermans is especially known for his portraits of members of the Medici family, whose court painter he was. His work can be found, among others, both in the Galleria Palatina and in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence. During his lifetime he was considered the best painter in Italy.

He studied at the beginning of Flanders and Antwerp, possibly with artists such as Willem de Vos ( a nephew of the painter Marten de Vos ) and Frans Pourbus the Younger. Finally, he went to Florence under the patronage of the Medici family, where he, like Italian portrait artist Il Guercino the Spaniard Diego Velázquez and the Frenchman Pierre Mignard studied. In Italy, he was also influenced by Venetian artists.

Selected Works

• Portrait of a Lady, oil on canvas, (Norton Simon Museum, Pasadena )
• Portrait of a Lady with pearls, oil on canvas, (Odessa Museum of Western Art and Eastern Europe, Ukraine)
• Portrait of Grand Duke Ferdinand II of Tuscany and his wife Vittoria della Rovere, oil on canvas, (National Gallery, London)
• The Senators of Florence swearing loyalty Ferdinando II de ' Medici, oil on canvas, ( Ashmolean, Oxford)
• Portrait of Cardinal Carlo de ' Medici, oil on canvas, (Museo Poldi Pezzoli in Milan )
• Vincenzo II Gonzaga, ruler of Mantua from 1587-1612, wearing the Order of the Redentore, oil on canvas,
• Portrait of Galileo Galilei, oil on canvas, ( National Maritime Museum, Greenwich)
• Portrait of Galileo, oil on canvas, (Uffizi, Florence)