It follows models of François-Antoine Bossuet, 19th century.

It follows models of FRANÇOIS-ANTOINE BOSSUET (Ypres, Belgium, 1798-Brussels, 1889).
Belgian school of the 19th century.
"Fish Market in Antwerp".
Oil on canvas.
Measurements: 88 x 69 cm.; 111 x 95 cm.(frame).

We are in front of a scene of a bustling market, with stalls protected by tarpaulins and people buying and selling. The historical buildings that frame it and the clothes of the villagers allow us to recognize the Grote Markt (Great Market Square) of Antwerp, a central square in the old part of the city, which already in the nineteenth century enjoyed a vibrant atmosphere. Most of the stalls are fish stalls (Antwerp was already an important port enclave), and crowds of women, accompanied by their offspring, wearing bonnets and scarves, come to shop. The scene is impregnated with a juicy narrative that draws from the Flemish tradition. More specifically, the painter bases himself on a painting by François-Antoine Bossuet, a Belgian author whose genre themes were very popular throughout Europe during the nineteenth century.

François-Antoine Bossuet, a Belgian-born Romantic painter, is best known for his depictions of cities and landscapes in Italy, Spain and Belgium. Bossuet was a professor at the Academy of Fine Arts in Brussels for more than twenty years, between 1855 and 1876. His works, abundant and highly appreciated for their precision, accuracy of perspective and light effects, can be seen in the Royal Museum of Fine Arts in Antwerp, in the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium in Brussels, in the Victoria and Albert Museum in London and in numerous private collections, such as the Bellver collection in Seville.