Franciscus van der Steen

Amor as a boy sharpening his bow with a knife after Parmigianino

Franciscus van der Steen[1] (Antwerp, c. 1625 – Vienna, 1672) was a Flemish painter and engraver who was active in Vienna.

Life

Franciscus van der Steen is believed to have been born in Antwerp somewhere between 1615 and 1635.[2] He studied in Antwerp under the engraver Alexander Voet the Elder.[3]

He is known to have become active in Antwerp from the year 1643-1644. He is one of the many Flemish artists, such as Nikolaus van Hoy and Jan Anton van der Baren, who followed Archduke Leopold Wilhelm, the art loving governor of the Southern Netherlands, upon his return to Vienna in 1656.[4]

Franciscus van der Steen operated a workshop in Vienna. His compatriot, the landscape painter Renier Meganck, joined his workshop around 1670. In 1671 Meganck acted as a witness and sealed the last will of Franciscus van der Steen. Van der Steen died not much later in early 1672.[4]

Work

Franciscus van der Steen is principally as a reproductive engraver who made engravings after old masters and contemporary artists. He worked together with Nikolaus van Hoy on engravings for David Teniers the Younger's Theatrum Pictorium. Nikolaus van Hoy usually worked as the intermediary draughtsman who translated the modelli made by Teniers after the original paintings in the collection of Archduke Leopold Wilhelm into drawings. These were then engraved by van der Steen.[5]

He also worked with the Antwerp publisher and engraver Joannes Meyssens on portrait engravings for Het Gulden Cabinet der Edel Vry Schilderconst, the book of artist biographies written by Cornelis de Bie first published in 1662.

References

  1. ↑ Name variations: Frans van der Steen, Franciscus van der Stein, Franciscus van der Stieen
  2. ↑ Franciscus van der Steen at the Netherlands Institute for Art History (in Dutch)
  3. ↑ The Netherlands Institute for Art History entry on the artist erroneously states that the landscape painter Jacques Backereel was his master. The master of Franciscus van der Steen was in fact Alexander Voet the Elder, see: Ph. Rombouts and Th. van Lerius, De liggeren en andere historische archieven der Antwerpsche sint Lucasgilde Volume 2, Antwerp, 1864, p. 174, p. 105, on Google books (in Dutch)
  4. 1 2 Guido Messling, Point of View #14 at the Kunsthistorisches Museum
  5. ↑ Six card-players at the British Museum


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