Sebastian Vrancx

Sebastian Vrancx ( baptized January 22, 1573 in Antwerp, † May 19, 1647 ibid, also Frank or Franck ) was a Flemish battles and genre painter.

Life and work

The exact date of birth of the artist is unknown, he was baptized on January 22, 1573 in the Jacob church at Antwerp. According to Karel van Mander's Schilder - Boeck he was a pupil of Adam van Noort. The obligatory for Flemish painters of his time trip to Italy to deepen their training took place in 1597. The impressions of this trip were reflected later settled in the representation of ancient ruins and Roman structures. The artist was 1600/ 01 Champion ( champion son ) of the Antwerp Guild of St. Luke in 1611 and Mitdekan, 1612 Upper Dean. In 1612 he married Maria Pamphi. Vrancx was in 1607 a member of the chamber of the rhetoricians " Violieren " where he played a key role. In 1610 he was inducted into the fraternity of Romanists from 1621 to 1631 he was captain of the Antwerp vigilantes.

Vrancx often painted kleinfigürliche company pieces in parklands, public outdoor scenes, fairs and the like. Often these presentations are part of biblical stories or religious allegories. Even pure landscapes, particularly with Roman ruins, have survived. Occasionally painted Vrancx also interiors of churches. Some of his illustrations were reproduced by contemporary engravers such as Cornelius Galle the Elder, Wenceslas Hollar, Pieter de Jode the Elder, Jacob Matham, Matthew Merian, Michiel Snyders, Philippe Thomassin, among others.

Vrancx was a friend of the Elder and Frans Francken II with contemporary artists Jan Brueghel the Elder, Hendrik van Balen. He was a highly prolific artist, in the well-known museums and galleries in Europe are many works available from his hand. Sebastian died in a Vrancx for his time fairly high age of 74 in his hometown of Antwerp.

Founder of the Flemish military genres

Particularly well known Vrancx was his battle scenes, even he is considered the inventor of the battle painting in the Netherlands and as the founder of the Flemish military genre. His specialty was the representation of the riders struggle, the attack on a convoy or the plundering of a village. From Flanders starting to spread these issues not only in the southern Netherlands, but also in Holland, Italy and Germany, and as the subjects of military life from the masters of this genre were taken again and again in countless variations. In Vrancx never find closed, compact military formations, characteristic of his style is much more uniform distribution of equal -sized figures on the scene.

The people in the pictures Vrancx follow the Flemish character ideal of a little stocky bodies, their faces are not very individualized and press especially the brutality and anguish of the fighters. Paid particular attention Vrancx on the design of the costume and the weapons of his characters, followed by the whole of contemporary martial art. Vrancx offers the viewer no major movements in the image, but the image dissolves into individual anecdotal scenes that represent the event in its entirety. In order not to let the broken down in this myriad of individual scenes paintings disintegrate, the image is usually on both sides - as it were within the picture - framed by trees. Sebastian Vrancx worked with Jan Brueghel the Elder together, which was responsible for the landscape, Sebastiaen Vrancx for the figures in this cooperation Brueghel. Vrancx style was continued by his pupil Pieter Snayers and developed. Snayers was not only one of the main champions of the so-called analytic- topographical image battle, he followed his teacher Sebastiaen Vrancx also in the military genre.

Works (excerpt)

Anthony van Dyck Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie Heinz Schilling Integrated Authority File
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