Maerten de Vos
[4] The 17th-century Italian artist biographer Carlo Ridolfi wrote that de Vos worked in the studio of Tintoretto in Venice, which would explain this influence.
Frans Floris, who was at the time the leading Flemish history painter, never recovered from the shock of seeing his artworks destroyed.
[6] De Vos received in 1570 the commission to decorate the palatine chapel of William, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg in Celle, Germany.
[5] De Vos had initially converted to the Lutheran faith, but he reconverted to Catholicism after the Fall of Antwerp and the defeat of the Protestant cause in the Habsburg Netherlands.
[7] His reputation was such that in 1589 de Vos together with Ambrosius Francken I was appointed by the Ghent magistrate to value the painting of the Last Judgment by Raphael Coxie.
[8] Maerten de Vos and Ambrosius Francken were also chosen as the chief designers of the decorations for the 1594 Joyous Entry into Antwerp of the newly appointed governor of the Southern Netherlands, Archduke Ernest of Austria.
[10] To meet the strong demand for his work, including from foreign patrons, de Vos developed a streamlined workshop practice.
[1] Maerten de Vos was principally a painter of religious scenes and to a lesser extent of mythological and allegorical themes.
The so-called Marten de Vos Sketchbook (c. 1560; Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam) containing copies of earlier drawings of Classical works of art has now been attributed to the circle of Frans Floris.
[2][11] Maerten de Vos was not an innovative artist but rather an eclectic figure who borrowed liberally from Italian masters.
[7] While there was little evolution in his style his late altarpieces recall the work of earlier Netherlandish masters, such as Maarten van Heemskerck and, in the case of the St. Luke Painting the Virgin, Quinten Metsys.
[2] De Vos was a very prolific 'inventor' and his large output was popularized and widely disseminated through engravings made by Raphael Sadeler, Wierix brothers and others.
[12] Other publications on which he worked included series on the five senses, the seven deadly sins, the Christian virtues, the 12 months, the four seasons and the seven wonders of the world.
The print was plate 8 in the 12-part Vita, passio et Resvrrectio Iesv Christ which was published by Jan and Raphael Sadeler in Antwerp in 1583.
The Dutch painter Simon de Vlieger was also inspired by the print for his treatment of the same subject (1637, Art Collection of the University Göttingen).
