Peter, Peeter or Pieter Franchoys or Francois (1606–1654) was a Flemish Baroque painter from Mechelen

Mechelen

Mechelen Footnote: Mechelen became known in English as 'Mechlin' from which the adjective 'Mechlinian' is derived...

, who painted an altarpiece

Altarpiece

An altarpiece is a picture or relief representing a religious subject and suspended in a frame behind the altar of a church. The altarpiece is often made up of two or more separate panels created using a technique known as panel painting. It is then called a diptych, triptych or polyptych for two,...

 of Calvary

Calvary

Calvary or Golgotha was the site, outside of ancient Jerusalem’s early first century walls, at which the crucifixion of Jesus is said to have occurred. Calvary and Golgotha are the English names for the site used in Western Christianity...

 influenced by Anthony van Dyck

Anthony van Dyck

Sir Anthony van Dyck was a Flemish Baroque artist who became the leading court painter in England. He is most famous for his portraits of Charles I of England and his family and court, painted with a relaxed elegance that was to be the dominant influence on English portrait-painting for the next...

 for the St. Gummarus

St. Gummarus

St. Gummarus could be*Gummarus, the patron saint of lumberjacks, forest workers, foresters, woodcutters and Lier, Belgium*St. Gummarus - the Belgian beer also called Sint-Gummarus brewed by the microbrewery "Sint Jozef"...

 church in Lier, Belgium

Lier, Belgium

Lier is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Antwerp. The municipality comprises the city of Lier proper and the village of Koningshooikt. On January 1, 2010 Lier had a total population of 33,930. The total area is 49.70 km² which gives a population density of 669 inhabitants per...

.

Biography

He first learned to paint from his father, Lucas Franchoys the Elder

Lucas Franchoys the Elder

Lucas Franchoys the Elder or Francois was a Flemish Baroque painter from Mechelen.-Biography:He came from a family of artists and his sister Cornelia married the sculptor Hendrik Faydherbe. he taught both of his sons, Lucas Franchoys the Younger and Peter Franchoys how to paint. He studied in...

, and later from Gerard Seghers

Gerard Seghers

Gerard Seghers , also Zegers, was a Flemish Baroque painter and one of the leading Caravaggisti in the Southern Netherlands.-Biography:...

 in Antwerp . In 1631 he traveled in France and is recorded being in Fontainebleau

Fontainebleau

Fontainebleau is a commune in the metropolitan area of Paris, France. It is located south-southeast of the centre of Paris. Fontainebleau is a sub-prefecture of the Seine-et-Marne department, and it is the seat of the arrondissement of Fontainebleau...

. In 1646 he became a member of the Mechelen schutterij

Schutterij

Schutterij refers to a voluntary city guard or citizen militia in the medieval and early modern Netherlands, intended to protect the town or city from attack and act in case of revolt or fire. Their training grounds were often on open spaces within the city, near the city walls, but, when the...

and in 1649 he became a master in the Guild of St. Luke there.

According to Houbraken he was known for his landscapes with small figures, that attracted the admiration of Archduke Leopold Wilhelm of Austria

Archduke Leopold Wilhelm of Austria

Archduke Leopold Wilhelm of Austria was an Austrian military commander, Governor of the Spanish Netherlands from 1647 to 1656, and a patron of the arts.-Biography:...

, for whom he painted many years.

His work is memorialized in the Gulden Cabinet of the poet from Lier, Cornelis de Bie

Cornelis de Bie

Cornelis de Bie was a Brabant rederijker, poet, jurist and minor politician from Lier.He is the author of about 64 works, mostly comedies...

.

External links

• Churches of Lier, Belgium