Quinten Matsijs (1466-1530)
Flemish painter Quinten Matsijs was one of the first great painters of the Antwerp School. His style was eclectic and although initially aligned with that of the Flemish Primitives, later on it was strongly influenced by the Italian Renaissance.
Legend has it that Matsijs was originally a blacksmith in the town of his birth Leuven before, in 1491, joining the prestigious Guild of Saint Luke in Antwerp.
His, generally religious, paintings unite serene beauty with conspicuously grotesque elements. Matsijs furthermore manifested himself as a refined, realistic portrait painter.
