Abraham Janssens

The diversity and high positions held by the Confrerie's membership offered him a good opportunity to meet with potential patrons.

[5] His pupils included his son Abraham Janssens II, Giovanni di Filippo del Campo, Michele Desubleo, Nicolas Régnier, Gerard Seghers, Theodoor Rombouts and Steven Wils.

[12] His earliest works are steeped in late 16th-century Mannerism and are characterized by an artificial design and a palette composed of dispersing colours.

This is clear in the composition Mount Olympus (Alte Pinakothek, Munich) which shows the combination of Janssens's study of the Antique and of Michelangelo, during his stay in Italy and through prints which he could access in Antwerp.

[1] His composition Scaldis and Antverpia (also referred to as Allegory of the Scheldt) of 1609 (Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp) is a key work of Janssens's Caravaggesque period.

The figure of Scaldis is inspired by the statute of the Tiber on the Capitoline Hill while the composition itself resembles Michelangelo's The Creation of Adam.

[1] This work shows how Janssens's style had developed towards a classic academic beauty, harmonious in form and with an unbroken palette.

The preference of Janssens for sculptural form impairs the drama of the work as the figures are represented in frozen poses and expression.

This Caravaggesque composition predates comparable Dutch works such as Dirck van Baburen's Roman charity by a decade.

A good example of the latter is The crucifixion (Musée des beaux-arts de Valenciennes, c. 1620) in which the figures look painted like sculptures and take on an iconic timelessness.