Frans Wouters

FRANS WOUTERS (Lier, 1612- Antwerp, 1659).
"Cephalus and Procris".
Oil on copper.
Presents faults.
Measurements: 55 x 72 cm; 79,5 x 96 cm (frame).
In this work the mythological history of Cephalus and Procris is collected. Cephalus was married to Procris, a daughter of Erecteo. The goddess of dawn, Eos fell in love with him and kidnapped Cephalus while he was hunting. The resilient Cephalus and Eos became lovers, and she bore him a son named Phaethon (not to be confused with the son of the sun god Helios). Some sources also give Tithonos and Hesperus as sons of Cephalus and Eos. However, Cephalus always pined for Procris, which caused a disgruntled Eos to return him, making disparaging remarks about his wife's fidelity. Bribed by a golden crown, his wife admitted Pteleon into her bed and, being detected by Cephalus, fled to Minos. As for the image, the scene reflects the narration found in Ovid's Metamorphosis, specifically in book VII. Procris jealous of her husband, and sure of his infidelity decided to follow him. When she chased her husband and hid in some bushes to avoid being discovered, her husband killed her thinking she was a wild animal.
Frans Wouters was a Flemish Baroque painter who translated the monumental Baroque style of Peter Paul Rubens into the small context of cabinet paintings. He initially began as an apprentice to Pieter van Avont in Antwerp, but broke his contract to move to Rubens' workshop in 1634.He became a master in the Guild of St. Luke the following year. He spent the 1630s as court painter to the Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand II. He was sent as Ferdinand II's ambassador to England in 1637. The following year, he became the painter to the Prince of Wales, the future Charles II of England. In England, Wouters would surely have had the opportunity to meet his compatriot Anthony van Dyck, who was at that time the court painter to Charles I of England. His style initially resembled the late mannerism of Joos de Momper and was later influenced by Rubens and, in particular, by Rubens' landscape paintings. After entering the service of Archduke Leopold William, Wouters' work showed the growing influence of Anthony van Dyck and the human figures in his paintings became elongated and emotionally expressive. He painted biblical scenes and mythological landscapes in this style.