Vlaamse school: Portret van een bisschop, olie op koper, 17de eeuw

Work: 41 x 33 cm

Frame: 56 x 48,5 cm

The painting can, according to a label on the frame, be attributed to the Mechelen painter Lucas Franchoys II (1616-1681). Franchoys was a student of Lucas Franchoys I and Peter Paul Rubens, until the death of the master. After his apprenticeship in Antwerp, he went to Paris, where he worked for Prince de Conte. In the late 1640s he reappears in Mechelen and shortly afterwards in Tournai, where he was listed as a painter in the period 1649-1654. In 1655 he finally became master of the painters guild in Mechelen and in 1663 he also took up an administrative position (dean). During his career, he was working with a.o. Lucas Achtschellinck, Jacques d'Arthois, Gregoire Beerings, Wilhelm van Ehrenberg, Egide Smeyers and Frans Snyders. (link) 

However, the hand of Charles Emmanuel Biset (1633-1707) may also be pushed forward. Biset was first active in Mechelen. Afterwards he turned up in Paris, where he worked for the Royal Court, Annonay, Brussels, Antwerp (free master in the Guild of St. Luke, Antwerp between 18 September 1661 and 18 September 1662; poorter (citizen) on 20 April 1663. Dean of the guild between 18 September 1675 and 18 September 1676. He was lieutenant under Captain Sebastiaen de Neve of the Oude Handboog. In 1687 he moved to Breda, where he stayed until his death, albeit with a few passages in the Southern Netherlands. (link)