Frans Francken the Elder

Frans Francken I or Frans Francken the Elder (1542, Herentals – 1616, Antwerp) was a Flemish painter who was one of the principal painters in Antwerp during the Counter-Reformation.^[1] He is mainly known for his large altarpieces and allegorical paintings. He was a member of the Francken dynasty of painters that played an important role in the Antwerp art scene in the 17th century.

Life

The Battle of Time against Death

Francken was born in Herentals as the son of Nicholas Francken, an obscure painter from Herentals.^[2] His father later settled in Antwerp and was likely his first teacher. He became a master of the Antwerp Guild of St. Luke in 1567 and was its deacon in 1587.^[1] His younger brothers Hieronymus Francken I and Ambrosius Francken I both became successful painters. The early biographer Karel van Mander stated that Frans Francken the Elder was a pupil of the leading Antwerp Mannerist painter Frans Floris.^[3]

Frans Francken married Elisabeth Mertens. At the time of his death in 1619 their surviving children were Thomas, Frans, Hieronymus, Ambrosius II, Magdalena and Elisabeth.^[4]

His pupils included his son Frans, Gortzius Geldorp, Herman van der Mast and Jan de Wael.^[4]

Work

Allegorical Painting

Frans Francken the Elder worked mainly on altar pieces as there was a great demand for such works as a result of the iconoclasm of the Calvinists. His masterpiece is a triptych entitled Christ among the Scribes, which was made for the Antwerp Cathedral in 1587. The figures are rather wooden in the late Mannerist style. However, the heads show the artist’s skill for portraiture. Frans Francken I was also a portrait painter and a few court portraits have been attributed to him.^[1]

His earliest paintings were in the style of Frans Floris but after 1600 he developed his own style which displayed classicising characteristics not unlike those in the work of Otto van Veen.^[5]

Frans Francken the Elder painted small-scale cabinet pictures, a genre in which his sons Frans and Hieronymus would excel.^[1] He was further known for his allegorical paintings and his son Frans would continue this tradition. An example of an allegorical paintings is the The Battle of Time against Death in the Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen.

Family tree

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Frans Francken (I).

References

• Frans Francken I on Artnet

Further Reading

• Liedtke , Walter A. (1984). Flemish paintings in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art. ISBN 0870993569.  (see index).