WOUTERS, Frans
Flemish painter and dealer. He was apprenticed to Pieter van Avont and then in 1634 moved to Rubens’s studio, where he may have worked on the decorations for the Pompa introitus Ferdinandi. In 1634⁄35 he became a master in Antwerp’s Guild of St Luke and shortly afterwards entered the service of Emperor Ferdinand II in Vienna. In spring 1637, however, he was in England, working on various commissions for Charles I, including ceiling paintings with mythological themes. At the same time he executed a number of small landscapes with figures and must also have been in contact with van Dyck.
By 1641 Wouters had returned to Antwerp, where, in his capacity as a dealer, he assisted in the valuation of the paintings from Rubens’s estate. He was also involved in the sale of the Duke of Buckingham’s collection by the Parliamentary Commissioners in 1648. At about the same time Wouters began to work for Archduke Leopold William.
Suggested listening (streaming mp3, 7 minutes):
