Paulus de Vos

(circa 1596 Hulst – 1678, Antwerp)

The Flemish animal and still life painter, Paulus de Vos, was the brother of Cornelis de Vos, both of whom were active in Antwerp throughout their lives. The marriage of Paulus’ sister Marguerite in 1611 made Paulus the brother-in-law of a well regarded older fellow artist, Frans Snyders, with whom he subsequently enjoyed a close personal and artistic friendship. De Vos became a master in the Antwerp Guild of St. Luke in 1620. In the years that followed he frequently collaborated with Rubens and Snyders, the former becoming godfather to his son Pierre Paul in 1628. Paulus de Vos left an extensive oeuvre of paintings, the size of which is greater than it occasionally appeared, given that many of his works were attributed in the past to Frans Snyders. The younger Paulus was far from being a mere imitator of Snyders, however. On the contrary, under Rubens’ influence he developed a spirited stylistic idiom of his own which finds expression primarily in his portrayals of highly animated hunting scenes and animal fights.