Jozef Janssens

Jozef Marie Aloys Janssens de Varebeke (29 May 1854, Sint-Niklaas - 29 June 1930, Antwerp) was a Belgian painter, known for his portraits and religious works.

In 1872, when his father received a visit from Franz Ittenbach and Karl Müller, two painters from Düsseldorf, they saw Jozef's drawings and recommended that he undertake formal studies.

From Rome, he would often visit Monte Cassino, where Desiderius Lenz, founder of the Beuron Art School, was painting the church tower; together with his associates Gabriel Wüger and Fridolin Steiner [de].

In addition to his canvases, from 1890 to 1910 he provided decorative paintings for the Jesuit church in Leuven, the Beguine monastery in Ghent and the Maredsous Abbey in Namur, as well as the Cathedral of Our Lady in Antwerp.

[2] Many of his portraits were of clergymen; notably Popes Leo XIII and Pius X, the Archbishop of Mechelen, Désiré-Joseph Mercier, and the Bishop of Ghent, Antoon Stillemans.