Frans Wouters (1612–1659)

• Was a Flemish Baroque painter.
• Frans Wouters was born in Lier, present-day Belgium.
• He was first apprenticed to Pieter van Avont in Antwerp in 1629 but broke his contract to move to the workshop of Rubens in 1634.
• He became a master in the Guild of St. Luke the following year.
• Wouters spent the 1630s as court painter to Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand II.

• He was sent as an ambassador of Ferdinand II to England in 1637.

• The following year, he became the painter of the Prince of Wales, the future Charles II of England.

• Back in Antwerp he assisted in the valuation of the paintings in Rubens' estate.

• His marriage to Maria Doncker, daughter of the treasurer of Antwerp, in 1644 provided him with a substantial fortune.

• In 1648, he became dean of the Antwerp Guild of St. Luke.

• He was involved in the sale of the art collection of George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham.

• Wouters worked also for Archduke Leopold Wilhelm of Austria, an avid art patron and collector.

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