Pourbus, family of painters
Pourbus, Pieter (1523-84), worked mainly in Bruges where he followed, in his religious works, the florid Italianizing style of Lancelot Blondeel, whose daughter he married. His portraits are stiff and formal affairs, but equal to those of his contemporaries Mor or Joos van Cleve. There are works in Antwerp, Bruges (Museum and churches), Brussels, London (Wallace Collection), New York (Metropolitan Museum) and elsewhere.
Frans I (1545-81), his son and pupil, painted religious pictures and portraits. He worked mainly in Antwerp, where he was also the pupil of Frans Floris, whose niece he married. His religious works are usually in the Italianizing style of Floris, but markedly Reformed Church in content; his portraits (like his father's) are close to the sober style of Mor. There are works in Berlin, Brussels, Dresden, Edinburgh (NPG), Ghent (Museum and S. Bavon), London (Wallace Collection), Rotterdam, Vienna and elsewhere.
Frans II (1569-1622), son of Frans I, worked for the Court of the Spanish Regents of the Netherlands in Brussels, and in 1600 became Court Painter to the Duke of Mantua, being there at the same time as Rubens. He also worked in Innsbruck, Naples and Turin, and in 1609 became painter to Marie de' Medici at the French Court. His is the most international style of any member of the family. There are works in Amsterdam (Rijksmuseum), Berlin, Leeds, Madrid (Prado), Munich, New York (Metropolitan Museum), Paris (Louvre), Vienna and elsewhere.

Works