The Virgin Presenting The Child Jesus To St-françois - Guilliam Forchondt The Elder (1608 - 1678)

Oil on copper.
Our composition depicts one of the many visions of Saint Francis: the moment when the Virgin holding the Child Jesus in her arms miraculously appears to her during a night walk in the woods. The saint is represented deferential before the Child to whom he dedicates his life from 1206. And as if to better illustrate the dream and reinforce the mystical character of the encounter, the saint appears in total levitation as extracted from the world by his holiness. The rugged landscape whose reliefs are occupied by a temple and a church is crossed by a river and animated by birds. The whole offers great emotional and spiritual intensity. Forchondt is gifted with great skill and paints like the successful painters of his time. Also, the influences of Rubens and Jan Brueghel the Younger are perceptible in our painting.

Dr. Jan de Maere confirms that this is indeed the work of Guilliam Forchondt the Elder.

In a molded frame in blackened and golden wood style.
Dimensions: 73 x 104 cm - 86 x 117 cm with the frame

Guilliam (or Willem) Forchondt the Elder (Antwerp 1608 - Id. 1678) probably learned to paint from artists who carry out the paintings decorating the cabinets sold by his father Melchior Forchondt the Elder (art dealer and precious furniture). Guilliam paints in the baroque style of the Flemish school, sometimes imitating Rubens, Jan Brueghel the Younger or David Teniers the Younger, clearly adapting his production to market demand.
In 1633, on the death of his father, Guilliam took the reins of the family business and revolutionized the art market by getting personally involved in the creation process. With his brother Melchior the Younger, he transformed his father's trading business into an international art and luxury goods business with up to 60 painters at their service. Among their many clients are prominent European nobility figures of the time.