Marten Jozef Geeraerts (1707–1791) was a Flemish

historical painter History painting is a genre in painting defined by its subject matter rather than any artistic style or specific period. History paintings depict a moment in a narrative story, most often (but not exclusively) Greek and Roman mythology and Bible ...

. Born at Antwerp, he was intended for the law, and studied in the Jesuits' College. Preferring art, however, he became a pupil of

Abraham Godijn Abraham Godijn or Abraham Godyn (alternative spellings of family name: Goddijn and Abraham Goddyn) (1655/56 – after 1724) was a Flemish painter who, after a stay in Italy, worked for a time as a court painter in Prague where he produced magnifice ...

, and was made free of the

Guild of St. Luke The Guild of Saint Luke was the most common name for a city guild for painters and other artists in early modern Europe, especially in the Low Countries. They were named in honor of the Four Evangelists, Evangelist Saint Luke, Luke, the patron sa ...

in 1731. In 1741 he became one of the six directors of the Academy of Antwerp, who filled that office gratuitously. He died at Antwerp in 1791. He excelled in grisaille painting in imitation of bas-reliefs, of which there are the following examples: * Antwerp. Gallery. ''The Fine Arts''. 1760. * Brussels. Gallery. ''Christ and the Disciples at Bmmaus'', ''The Saviour at the House of Simon the Pharisee'', ''The Sons of Aaron punished by Fire from Heaven'', ''The Woman taken in Adultery'', ''Abraham and Melchisedeck'', ''The Sacrifice of Abraham'' and ''The Sacrifice of Eli'' * Hague. Museum. ''Autumn''. * Lille. Museum. ''Children with Goat''. * Vienna. Gallery. ''Cupid and Psyche''. Between 1756 and 1760 he produced nine grisaille tromp-l’œil paintings for the abbey church in

Cambrai Cambrai (, ; pcd, Kimbré; nl, Kamerijk), formerly Cambray and historically in English Camerick or Camericke, is a city in the Nord (French department), Nord Departments of France, department and in the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, regio ...

which later became the Cathedral of Notre-Dame-de-Grâce.

References

* 1707 births 1791 deaths History painters Painters from Antwerp Royal Academy of Fine Arts (Antwerp) faculty 18th-century Flemish painters {{Flemish-painter-stub