WORTHINGTON FINE ART GALLERIES

17th Century Oil Painting, Dutch School | From the workshop of Frans Francken the Younger (Frans Francken II) | Entitled: “The Flagellation of Christ” | Medium/Support: oil on copper panel | Signed and dated in lower right | Dated “1672” | Condition: Framed and in good condition. Although few small areas of paint loss and Accretions, there is no major damage to rendering or medium.

The painting is a fairly detailed copy of Francken’s original, leading many scholars to believe it was produced in his (or his family’s) workshop.  Given the apparent date, it is likely that it was painted by a master in the Antwerp Guild of Saint Luke, which Francken’s son Frans III was a member and dean for 10 years.  Francken II family members and those that studied under them were known to reproduce his paintings, although with less skill as the more famous Francken II.  Nonetheless, the consensus remains that the painting was created in Antwerp no later than 1672, making it very likely that the painter was from the studio of a Francken or from the Guild in which the family worked.

The painting was created during the height of the Dutch Golden Age, a period in Dutch history spanning the 17th century (during and after the later part of the Eighty Years’ War (1568–1648) for Dutch independence. The emergence of the Dutch school of painting in the early seventeenth century is one of the most extraordinary phenomena in the history of the visual arts. The Netherlands had only recently become a political entity and was still suffering from the effects of a long and arduous war with Spain. Yet the small republic’s success in gaining independence from such a powerful adversary resulted in an enormous sense of self-esteem. The Dutch were proud of their achievements, proud of their land, and intent upon creating a form of government that would provide a broad and lasting foundation for the future. They expressed pride in their unique social and cultural heritage in many ways, but most famously in their rich artistic traditions.

17th Century Dutch masters included Rembrandt van Rijn, Johannes Vermeer, Frans Hals, and Aelbert Cuyp.  The period included outstanding examples of the portraits, genre scenes, landscapes, marine paintings, still lifes, and biblical and mythological scenes that have made this school of painting one of the most beloved and admired in the history of European art.