Pourbus

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Pourbus. Family of Netherlandish painters, distinguished mainly as portraitists. Pieter (b Gouda, c.1523; d Bruges, 30 Jan. 1584) spent most of his life in Bruges, where he became a member of the painters' guild in 1543 and at about the same time married the daughter of Lancelot Blondeel. He was a civil engineer, surveyor, and cartographer as well as a painter. Van Mander wrote: ‘I have never seen a better equipped studio than his.’ As well as portraits he painted religious and allegorical scenes, one of the most splendid of which is the Allegory of True Love (c.1547, Wallace Coll., London). Pieter's son Frans the Elder (b Bruges, 1545; d Antwerp, 19 Sept. 1581) was active in Antwerp, where he was a pupil and follower of Frans Floris (he married a daughter of Cornelis Floris). The most famous member of the family is his son Frans the Younger (b Antwerp, 1569; bur. Paris, 19 Feb. 1622), who was one of the principal court portraitists of Europe. After spending a year working for the Archduke Albert and the Infanta Isabella in Brussels, he was employed in Mantua from 1600 to 1609 (at the same time as Rubens) by Vincenzo I Gonzaga. In 1609 he was called to Paris by Marie de Médicis and worked as her court painter until his death. His style—more concerned with the meticulous reproduction of rich costumes and jewellery than with interpretation of character—was typical of international court portraiture of the day.

Pourbus. Family of Netherlandish painters, distinguished mainly as portraitists. Pieter (c.1523–84) spent most of his life in Bruges, where he became a member of the painters' guild in 1543 and at about the same time married the daughter of Lancelot Blondeel. He was a civil engineer, surveyor, and cartographer as well as a painter. Van Mander wrote, ‘I have never seen a better equipped studio than his.’ As well as portraits he painted religious and allegorical scenes, one of the most splendid of which is the Allegory of True Love (c.1547, Wallace Coll., London). Pieter's son, Frans the Elder (1545–81), was active in Antwerp, where he was a pupil and follower of Frans Floris (he married a daughter of Cornelis Floris). The most famous member of the family is his son Frans the Younger (1569–1622), who was one of the principal court portraitists of Europe. After spending a year working for the Archduke Albert and the Infanta Isabella in Brussels, from 1600 to 1609 he was employed in Mantua (at the same time as Rubens) by Vincenzo I Gonzaga. In 1609 he was called to Paris by Maria de' Medici and worked as her court painter until his death. His style—more concerned with the meticulous reproduction of rich costumes and jewellery than with interpretation of character—was typical of international court portraiture of the day.

Pourbus , family of Flemish painters. Pieter Pourbus, 1510-84, painted portraits and religious subjects. His Last Judgment is in the Bruges Museum; the Metropolitan Museum has his Portrait of a Young Woman. His son, Frans Pourbus, 1545-81, was a pupil and follower of Frans Floris. In Ghent there is an altarpiece executed by him. He is also known for his fine portraits. His son, Frans Pourbus, c.1569-1622, was a favorite portrait painter in the Brussels and Gonzaga courts and, from 1609 until his death, in the court of Marie de' Medici. His portrait of her (Louvre) is one of his best-known works. A leading mannerist, he vied with Rubens for commissions.