Willem Gabron

Still Life with Turkish Carpet and a Parrot.

Willem Gabron (alternative first names: Guilliam, Guiliam, William, nickname: Toetsteen) (1619, Antwerp – 2 August 1678, Antwerp), was a Flemish Baroque still life painter.

Life

He was registered in the Antwerp Guild of St. Luke as a ‘wijnmeester’ (i.e. son of a master of the Guild) in 1640-41.[1][2] It is not clear with whom he studied but it was possibly with his father. His sister Anna Maria married the Antwerp sculptor Artus Quellinus the Elder.

In 1646 he traveled to Rome, where he became a member of the Bentvueghels, an association of mainly Dutch and Flemish artists working in Rome. It was customary for the Bentvueghels to adopt an appealing nickname, the so-called 'bent name'. Gabron was given the bent name Toetsteen, which means 'touchstone'.[2]

He returned to Antwerp before 1660 where he remained active until his death.[2]

Work

Still Life with Silver Cup

Only a few of his works have been preserved. His still life paintings were very sought after. He excelled in the painting of fruit and flowers as well as in the realist representation of golden, silver and ivory objects.[1][3]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Guillaume Gabron at the Biographie Nationale de Belgique, Volume 7, p. 405 (French)
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Willem Gabron at the Netherlands Institute for Art History (Dutch)
  3. ↑ Guiliam Gabron in: Arnold Houbraken, De groote schouburgh der Nederlantsche konstschilders en schilderessen, 1718 (Dutch)
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