Isabella Francken - A gathering of witches

Isabella Francken was a Flemish painter who was active in the first part of the 17th century. She was a member of the large Francken family of artists. Only a few works are currently attributed to her. These are

history History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...

and genre paintings, which are in the style representative of the Francken family workshop.

Life

Very little is known about the life and training of Isabella Francken. It is believed she was the daughter of

Hieronymus Francken I Hieronymus Francken I or Hieronymus Francken the Elder (ca. 1540, Herentals–1610, Paris) was a Flemish painter and an important member of the Francken family of artists. After training in Antwerp, he was mainly active in France, where he ...

.Isabella Francken, ''The Road to Calvary''
at

Bonhams Bonhams is a privately owned international auction house and one of the world's oldest and largest auctioneers of fine art and antiques. It was formed by the merger in November 2001 of Bonhams & Brooks and Phillips Son & Neale. This brought to ...

Her father had been a pupil of

Frans Floris Frans Floris, Frans Floris the Elder or Frans Floris de Vriendt (17 April 15191 October 1570) was a Flemish painter, draughtsman, print artist and tapestry designer. He is mainly known for his history paintings, allegorical scenes and portraits.< ...

and had settled in France in 1578. Isabella Francken was active in the first half, and possibly even only in the first quarter, of the 17th century.Isabella Francken
at the

Netherlands Institute for Art History The Netherlands Institute for Art History or RKD (Dutch: RKD-Nederlands Instituut voor Kunstgeschiedenis), previously Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie (RKD), is located in The Hague and is home to the largest art history center i ...

Work

Only two works are currently attributed to Isabella Francken: ''The Road to Calvary'' (Sold at Bonhams on 8 July 2009 in London, lot 76) and a ''Witch scene'' (Sold at Dorotheum on 2 October 2002 in Vienna, lot 360). Both works are oil on copper paintings. ''The Road to Calvary'' is similar to two groups of paintings by her cousin

Frans Francken II Frans is an Afrikaans, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Icelandic, Norwegian, and Swedish given name, sometimes as a short form of ''François''. One cognate of Frans in English is '' Francis''. Given name * Frans van Aarssens (1572–1641), Dutch diplo ...

of the same subject, which are generally dated either to the first decade of the 17th century or to circa 1618. The composition depicts the meeting between Christ carrying the cross and

Saint Veronica Saint Veronica, also known as Berenike, was a woman from Jerusalem who lived in the 1st century AD, according to extra-biblical Christian sacred tradition. A celebrated saint in many pious Christian countries, the 17th-century ''Acta Sanctorum' ...

who has a cloth to wipe Christ's face. It is signed and dated lower left: I. FRANCK.F / 1631.Isabella Francken ''Christ carrying the cross and the meeting with Saint Veronica''
at the

The ''Witch scene'' depicts a gathering of witches in an interior. It is very close to the compositions of the same subject by her cousins Frans Francken II and

Hieronymous Francken II Hieronymus Francken the Younger or Hieronymus II (Antwerp, 1578 – Antwerp, 1623) was a Flemish painter and one of the most prominent members of the large Francken family of artists. Along with his brother Frans Francken II he played an impo ...

Family tree

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Francken, Isabella Flemish Baroque painters Flemish genre painters Flemish history painters Flemish women painters

Isabella Isabella may refer to: People and fictional characters * Isabella (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Isabella (surname), including a list of people Places United States * Isabella, Alabama, an unincorpor ...

17th-century Flemish painters 17th-century women artists