Jan Frans van Geel

Jan Frans van Geel (Mechelen, 18 September 1756 – Antwerp, 20 January 1830)[1] was a Flemish sculptor, draugthsman and art educator.

Herreyns was a painter originally from Antwerp who created art in the style of the great Flemish tradition of Baroque painting and had been one of the founders of the academy in Mechelen.

A daughter Maria Catharina married the sculptor and joiner Jan Baptist Judo of Brussels.

[1] Antwerp, at the time a city in the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, was experiencing an economic revival offering van Geel various opportunities to obtain commissions.

He was further honored by an appointment as special sculptor to the Archbishop of Mechelen, Prince Cardinal de Méan.

[1] He remained attached to the Flemish style of the Baroque period, although his work also shows an awareness of the upcoming neoclassicistic movement.

Some of the sketches and drawings for architectural and sculptural projects made by van Geel are kept in the Plantin-Moretus Museum in Antwerp.

The figures, their equipment and their catch are stunningly realistic amidst a naturalistic stage setting of rocks and plants.