Abraham Janssens van Nuyssen

Abraham Janssens (or Jansens) van Nuyssen (ca. 1573/1574 – 1632) was a Flemish Baroque painter.

From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abraham_Janssens

He was born at Antwerp, in a year variously reported between 1567 and 1576. He studied under Jan Snellinck, was a master in 1602, and in 1607 was dean of the master-painters. He died in the city of his birth.

Till the appearance of Rubens he was considered perhaps the best historical painter of his time. The styles of the two artists are not unalike. In correctness of drawing Janssens excelled his great contemporary; in bold composition and in treatment of the nude he equalled him; but in faculty of color and in general freedom of disposition and touch he fell far short. A master of chiaroscuro, he gratified his taste for strong contrasts of light and shade in his torchlights and similar effects. Good examples of this master are to be seen in the Antwerp museum and the Vienna gallery.

The stories of his jealousy of Rubens and of his dissolute life are quite unfounded.

Notes

Holgate, in 1848, wrote of Abraham Janssen:

"Abraham Janssens, an excellent artist, was born at Antwerp in 1569 (sic), with a wonderful genius for painting, and in his youth executed some pieces which set him above all the young painters of his time; but becoming enamored of a young woman at Antwerp, whom he obtained in marriage, he gave himself up to a dissipated course of life, which soon impoverished him, and affected his temper. He grew jealous of Rubens, and sent a challenge to that painter, with a list of the names of such persons as were to decide the matter, so soon as their respective works should be finished; but Rubens, instead of accepting the challenge, answered that he willingly yielded him the preference, leaving the public to do them justice. There are some of Janssens' works in the churches at Antwerp. He painted a descent from the cross for the great church of Boisleduc, which has been taken for a piece of Rubens; and is thought no ways inferior to any of the works of that great painter; but his chief work is his resurrection of Lazarus in the Dusseldorf gallery."

Family notes

Unfortunately it appears (as of April 2014) his family tree has been subjected to a known fraud: see
John Blythe Dobson, "The fraudulent Coligny-Rapalje descent," Annals of Genealogical Research Vol.2, No. 1 (2006) at http://www.genlit.org/agr/viewarticle.php?id=10 

According to http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08294a.htm:

Flemish painter, b. at Antwerp about 1573; d. probably in the same place about 1631. He is also known as Janssens Van Nuyssen, and several of his pictures are signed with this name, which it is believed he adopted from his mother's family with the object of distinguishing himself from other members of the Janssens family, contemporary artists ....

Links

• The fraudulent Coligny-Rapalje descent
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abraham_Janssens
• http://lezingen/2004-2/abraham-janssen-ca-1571-75-antwerpen-1632/
• http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abraham_Janssens
• Zie Wikipedia...