Saint Francis with the animals by de Hondt and Van Herp
oil on copper, 17th century
Lambert de Hondt was a Flemish painter and draughtsman mainly known for his equestrian and battle scenes as well as his genre and landscape paintings. As was the custom at the time, he regularly collaborated with other painters.
He worked with Willem van Herp in the production of landscapes (painted by de Hondt) with figures (painted by van Herp) such as Noah gathering his Family and the Animals on the Ark, Orpheus charming the animals, and this post's displayed painting: St. Francis with the Animals.
These three paintings are similar in composition and are a variation of the type of the so-called 'paradise landscape'. Paradise landscapes depict the Garden of Eden as described in the Book of Genesis, filled with all the animals, fish and birds that were believed to be God's creation. The genre was invented and popularized by Jan Brueghel, who studied many domestic and exotic animal species and include them in his compositions.
De Hondt was manifestly inspired by Brueghel's paradise landscapes, and was clearly also familiar with Rubens' animal scenes as his depiction of the lions in his 'paradise paintings' resemble those of Rubens in the painting Daniel in the Lion's Den.
He occasionally painted on copper, a support which offered a perfectly smooth surface allowing the precise detail of the paradise paintings.
On the other hand, Willem van Herp was a Flemish Baroque painter specializing in religious paintings and small cabinet paintings of "low-life" genre scenes. Van Herp painted mainly genre scenes and religious compositions. It is not possible to discern a development in his style since he only dated a few of his pictures
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