SCHOOR, Lodewijk van

Flemish painter and tapestry designer. He was one of the major figures of Flemish tapestry design in the late 17th and early 18th century, together with Victor Honoré Janssens and Jan van Orley.

Very little is known about his life and training. He was registered as a master in the Brussels Guild of Saint Luke in 1678. He established himself in Antwerp in 1696 where he registered as a master in the local Guild of Saint Luke. In Antwerp he was the master of Jacques Ignace de Roore.

Although he was registered as a painter in the Antwerp Guild of Saint Luke, he is now principally known as a designer for the tapestry workshops in Brussels and no paintings have been confidently attributed to him.

Van Schoor designed various tapestry series dealing with allegorical subjects. He made series of the Seasons, Months (2 months per tapestry), the Four Elements and the Four Continents. His designs of the Four Continents inspired a series on the similar theme designed by the Italian artist Giovanni Camillo Sagrestani for the tapestry workshop in Florence. The cartoons he made for the tapestry workshops were often a collaborative effort with other artists such as Pieter Spierinckx, Augustin Coppens and Lucas Achtschellinck (1626-1699). Van Schoor was typically responsible for the figures and the other artists for the landscapes.