Frans Snyders

1579–1657, Antwerp

The animal and still life painter, Frans Snyders, was apprenticed to Pieter Brueghel the Younger in 1593 but in his artistic development he was influenced to a much greater extent by Brueghel’s younger brother Jan. Snyders was made a master in 1602, after which he travelled to Italy, returning to his native city of Antwerp for good in the summer of 1609. The freer, independent, style he acquired was due largely to the influence of Pieter Paul Rubens, who taught him to paint animals, fruits and flowers in his pictures and subsequently employed him in his studio.