LUCAS ACHTSCHELLINCK (BRUSSELS 1626-1699)

One of the leading Brussels landscape artists of his time, Lucas Achtschellinck dedicated much of his energies to depicting scenes set in the Sonian Forest, which is located on the southeast edge of Brussels and was a favorite hunting ground of the Habsburg Imperial family. He was part of a group of landscape painters which also included Lodewijk de Vadder and Jacques d'Arthois who are referred to as the School of Painters of the Sonian Forest. Achtschellinck was a follower of Rubens' style of landscape painting and his broad and bold approach was at odds with the somewhat mannered and overly detailed artistic mode of the period. His works, and particularly the lightness of touch with which he depicts trees and his careful observation of values, reveal an artist who studied first and foremost in nature.