Pieter Snayers
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Pieter Snayers (Antwerp 1592–Brussels 1666 or 1667) was a Flemish Baroque painter known for representations of historical battle scenes.[1][2] He studied under Sebastiaen Vrancx before joining Antwerp's Guild of St. Luke in 1612.[1] By 1628, Snayers was a citizen in Brussels.[3] There, he worked first for Archduchess Isabella,[2] and was later the court painter for Cardinal-Infante Ferdinand and Archduke Leopold Wilhelm.[1] For them he painted scenes of victorious battles in the tradition of sixteenth-century tapestries.[1] Snayers also collaborated with Peter Paul Rubens on several occasions, including the never-finished Life of Henry IV (1628–30) and the Torre de la Parada series (c. 1637–1640).[2] He also painted portraits of aristocracy in Brussels and large landscapes.[2] Snayers's best-known pupil was Adam Frans van der Meulen.[1]
[edit] Snayers's battle scenes
Snayers historical battle scenes demonstrate a close attention to topographic accuracy.[3] Frequently, his paintings show a shallow foreground that recedes sharply to show a besieged town from a bird's-eye perspective.[1] Stylistically, his colouring was more subdued than his teacher Vrancx and reflects contemporary trends in Flemish and Dutch painting.[1]
 Sulieman's Siege of Vienna in 1529. Private collection. |
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d e f g Hans Vlieghe, Flemish Art and Architecture 1585-1700, New Haven: Yale University Press (1998): 173. ISBN 0-3000-7038-1
- ^ a b c d Carl van de Velde, "Snayers, Pieter" Grove Art Online. Oxford University Press, [accessed 9 March, 2008].
- ^ a b Konrad Renger and Claudia Denk, Flämische Malerei des Barock in der Alten Pinakothek, Munich: Pinakothek-DuMont (2002): 167. ISBN 3-8321-7255-6
