Follower of FRANS WOUTERS (Lier, 1612 - Antwerp, 1659); late 19th century."Holy Family with Saint

Follower of FRANS WOUTERS (Lier, 1612 - Antwerp, 1659); late 19th century.
"Holy Family with Saint Anthony".
Oil on canvas.
It presents slight faults in the pictorial surface and in the frame.
Measurements: 85 x 135 cm; 104,5 x 155,5 cm (frame).
In this landscape format scene the author resorts to a theme of religious tradition, such as the representation of the Holy Family next to Saint Anthony, as an excuse to develop a landscape scene in depth where the vegetation has a great prominence. The piece is largely reminiscent of the paintings of Frans Wouters, a Flemish Baroque painter who translated the monumental Baroque style of Peter Paul Rubens into the small context of cabinet paintings. He initially began as an apprentice to Pieter van Avont in Antwerp, but broke his contract to move to Rubens' workshop in 1634 and became a master in the Guild of Saint Luke the following year. He spent the 1630s as court painter to the Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand II. He was sent as Ferdinand II's ambassador to England in 1637. The following year he became painter to the Prince of Wales, the future Charles II of England. In England, Wouters would surely have had the opportunity to meet his compatriot Anthony van Dyck, who was at that time the court painter to Charles I of England. His style initially resembled the late Mannerism of Joos de Momper and he was later influenced by Rubens and, in particular, by Rubens' landscape paintings. After entering the service of Archduke Leopold William, Wouters' work showed the growing influence of Anthony van Dyck and the human figures in his paintings became elongated and emotionally expressive. He painted biblical scenes and mythological landscapes in this style.