Frans Francken the Younger

Frans Francken the Younger, Kunstkamer, 1636. Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna.

Abbas I as a new Caesar being honoured by the trumpets of fame, together with the Persian embassy, in Allégorie de l'Occasion, by Frans II Francken, 1628.

Frans Francken the Younger (1581 – 6 May 1642), was a Flemish Baroque painter and the best-known member of the large Francken family of artists.

Francken was born in Antwerp. Many of his works are small historical, allegorical and biblical cabinet paintings with the focus on figures. He also invented or popularized several new themes that became popular in Flemish painting, such as genre scenes populated by monkeys (later imitated by David Teniers the Younger) and Kunstkamer paintings displaying a wealth of natural and artistic treasures against a neutral wall. Francken frequently collaborated with other artists, adding figures to works by Tobias Verhaecht and Abraham Govaerts. Later in his life he also painted large altarpieces.

Family tree

Nicolaes Francken 1515–1596

Hieronymous Francken I 1540–1610

Frans Francken I 1542–1616

Ambrosius Francken I 1544–1618

(Cornelius Francken)

Isabella Francken

Thomas Francken 1574–1625

Hieronymous Francken II 1578–1623

Frans Francken II 1581–1642

Ambrosius Francken II 1590–1632

Hans Francken 1581–after 1610

Frans Francken III 1607–1667

Hieronymous Francken III 1611–after 1661

Ambrosius Francken III 1614–1662

Constantijn Francken 1661–1717

Sources

• Härting, Ursula "Francken," Grove Art Online. Oxford University Press, [7 November 2007].
• Vlieghe, Hans (1998). Flemish Art and Architecture, 1585-1700. Pelican history of art. New Haven: Yale University Press. ISBN 0-300-07038-1

External links

Media related to Frans Francken the Younger at Wikimedia Commons