Circle of Frans Francken II

Circle of FRANS FRANCKEN II (Antwerp, 1581 - 1642).
"The supper of the rich Epulon", 1630.
Oil on panel. Cradled.
Dated in the lower right area.
Measurements: 35.5 x 53 cm; 62 x 78 cm (frame).
This scene represents the dinner of Epulón, a rich man who dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day, eating an ostentatious banquet at the foot of his castle. The scriptures tell that at his gate stood a beggar named Lazarus, depicted by Francken in the background, covered with sores, who longed to eat what fell from the rich man's table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores. The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham's side. The rich man also died and was buried. In Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham afar off, with Lazarus by his side. Then he cried out to him, Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in agony in this fire. But Abraham answered, Son, remember that in your life you received your good things, while Lazarus received evil things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony. And besides all this, between us and thee there is a great gulf. He answered, "Then I beg you, Father, send Lazarus to my family, for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, lest they also come to this place of torment." Abraham replied, "They have Moses and the prophets; let them listen to them." "No, father Abraham,' he said, but if anyone from among the dead goes to them, they will repent. He said to him, 'If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced, even if someone rises from the dead.'"
The work is inscribed within the Flemish Baroque, also for its stylistic characteristics can be related to the circle of Frans Francken II. The most fruitful of his family of painters, he trained with his father, Frans Francken I, and in 1605 he joined the Painters Guild of St. Luke in Antwerp, thus beginning a career that would last until 1640, in which he specialized in cabinet painting. His contribution to this genre was of great importance, influencing artists such as Teniers. His style is based on that of Jan Brueghel de Velours, although it also shows strong influences of his father and his uncle, Hieronimus Francken. In his early works, debts to Mannerism and 16th century painting can be appreciated, both in the structure of the compositions and in the rhythm and expression of his figures. They also include evident references to the work of Italian artists such as Raphael, Veronese and Zuccaro. Likewise, the use of prints by Dürer and Lucas de Leyden for some of his figures has been demonstrated. In addition to cabinet painting, Francken painted mythological and biblical themes, some altarpieces and, in collaboration with other artists, painted the figures in landscapes or interior scenes of Tobias Verhaecht, Joos de Momper II, Pieter Neefs or Paul Vredeman de Vries, among others. He is currently represented in the most important art galleries in the world, such as the Prado Museum, the Louvre, the Royal Museum of Fine Arts in Antwerp, the Kunshistorisches in Vienna, the Hermitage in St. Petersburg and the Royal Collection in London, among many others.figures in the paintings of Flemish church interiors by Ludovicus Neefs, of which two are brilliant examples preserved in the Prado Museum, made around 1646. Frans Francken III was master of Carstian Luyckx and Jan Baptist Segaert. He is currently represented in the Prado Museum, the Royal Fine Arts Museum of Belgium, the Museum voor Schone Kunsten in Doornik (Belgium), the Residenzgalerie in Salzburg and other important museums and collections.