Adoration Of The Magi. Frans II Francken (1541-1642)

Oil on oak panel (2 parquet boards) Presented in a beautiful carved and gilded oak frame from the same period (17th century). Dimensions with the frame: 68 x 88 cm. The panel: 52 x 71 cm This very high quality painting is a so-called work of private devotion, from the 17th century, it was executed by the Antwerp painter Frans II Francken (1541-1642) who made a specialty and a European reputation by creating small and medium-sized paintings illustrating religious, mythological or historical scenes. The high plastic quality, the fluidity of the execution and the finesse of the colors can argue in favor of an autograph execution by the Master for the figures… and perhaps by his workshop for the elements of the composition. Dating from the first quarter of the 17th century, it is marked by the last fires of the Mannerist aesthetic of which we find here many stylistic traits. It represents the adoration of the three wise men who come to bring the three gifts (gold, incense and myrrh) to the baby Jesus. In the iconographic tradition, Caspar, with Asian features, offers the incense, Melchior, represented as a white and bearded old man, the gold, and Balthazar, with black skin, the myrrh. From the second half of the 16th century, painting took on a new lease of life, especially due to the expansion of the art market to the bourgeois classes. Indeed, until then, the patrons of painters were either religious institutions or aristocratic courts. The painters were often attached to them: monks belonging to the monastic orders from which the commission emanated, or artists/craftsmen hired as "valets" by the princes, and thus forming part of their domesticity, for a given time. The second part of the period called Mannerist corresponds to this explosion of the painting market. The professions of painter and draftsman/engraver grew: they often had independent workshops, and there was a considerable increase in the numbers of the various urban guilds, particularly in Italian cities and in those of Flanders and the Netherlands, which benefited from the wealth linked to maritime trade. While the most skilled painters, or the wealthiest, travelled to train with internationally renowned masters, notably those of Venice and Rome, most of the others never left their native region, and worked a lot from engravings. One of the very fashionable subjects at this time, for family devotional paintings, was the nativity; and the adoration of the three wise men, perhaps because this tale made people dream… *Biography of Frans II Francken Born in 1581, Frans Francken was the heir to a family of Flemish painters in Antwerp and even became its most famous artist. Established in art for five generations, it now enjoys great renown. The artist was therefore trained by his father, Frans Francken I, known as the Old, as well as his uncle, and was greatly inspired by his father's pictorial style. Their paintings are sometimes difficult to distinguish from each other, so they signed differently: the first Oude F. Francken and the son, Jon F. Franck. However, he opted for his father's signature in 1628 in order to distinguish himself from his son, who then took over his own. He continued the family artistic practice with his own children, Ambrosius and Frans III, who worked with him in his studio. In 1605, he became master of the Guild of Saint Luke, bringing together painters from Antwerp before becoming its dean in 1614. The main role of the guild was to allow members to sell their artistic productions and to have an apprentice. Then, after his father's death, his house became an art center. During his life, Frans II rubbed shoulders with many renowned artists, including Van Dyck who painted his portrait. A highly sought-after painter, many of his works are exhibited in the greatest museums in the world. Beautifully preserved. Sold with a certificate