Hendrik van Balen
1575 - 1632
Hendrik van Balen was a Flemish Baroque Era painter and stained-glass designer. He was born and died in Antwerp.
Van Balen was well-educated and encouraged by his father who was a merchant of oil, candles and groceries. He studied art either while traveling in Italy, or by an Italian painter in Antwerp. Between 1595 and 1600 van Balen traveled to Italy, visiting Rome, Venice and other cities. He became a member of the Guild of the Romanists in Rome.
Once back in Antwerp, van Balen collaborated with Abel Grimmer on a View of Antwerp. He became a master in the Antwerp Guild of St. Luke in 1592-3 and ran a successful studio for 30 years and had many pupils, such as Anthony van Dyck and Frans Snyder. He was also a contemporary of many of the other famous Flemish artists, such as the Brueghels, Jan and Peter.
Van Balen married in 1605, and three of his sons became painters: Jan van Balen, Gaspard van Balen and Hendrik van Balen II. His daughter Maria married Theodoor van Thulden. In 1613 he travelled to the northern Netherlands with Rubens and Jan Breughel the elder; otherwise he remained in Antwerp.
Known for his cabinet pictures and large altarpieces, Van Balen usually favored allegorical and mythological subjects. In addition, he painted small nudes and landscapes on copper or oak.
On his death, 1632 he left a considerable number of books in different languages.
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