Frans Ykens

Frans Ykens was baptized on 17 April 1601 in the St Walburga Church in Antwerp. His parents were Frans Ykens I and Johanna Nys. He commenced his artistic study at age 14 with his uncle Osias Beert, the husband of his father's sister. Beert was one of the earliest painters to specialize in still lifes. In 1615 he also studied under his Lucas Floquet the Elder, a history painter, who later became his father-in-law. According to a statement he made in 1641, he had traveled 12 years earlier (i.e. in 1629) to the Provence where he stayed, amongst others, in Aix-en-Provence and Marseille. • Illustration — A gentleman courting a maid Ykens became in 1631 a master of the Antwerp Guild of Saint Luke. In 1635 he married the flower painter Catarina Ykens (I), who was the daughter of history painter Lucas Floquet I and the sister of three painters. Ykens was successful and his works were very popular with collectors of his time. He painted for Archduke Leopold in Brussels. His works were collected by Eleanor of Austria, Queen of Poland who purchased his work through Antwerp art dealers Forchondt. He was also very appreciated by his colleagues as is demonstrated by the fact that Rubens owned six of his still lifes. • Illustration — Bouquet of flowers in a glass vase, with a butterfly on a wooden tabletop His success allowed him to acquire a sumptuous dwelling in central Antwerp. In 1665 he moved to Brussels, where he worked until his death. He must have fallen on hard times in his later years as he had to mortgage his property and his possessions were sold off after he died to pay his debts. Ykens was the teacher of his niece Catarina Ykens (II), Osias Beert (II) and Gilliam Dandoy, who painted in his decorative style.

Frans Ykens' oeuvre is fairly well established as he signed most of his work. All his dated paintings date to his Antwerp years (from 1635 to 1663). He painted mainly flower pieces, garland paintings and fruit still lifes. In addition, he also created a number of breakfast pieces, pronkstillevens and larger pieces with game and dead fish. Throughout his long career he worked in a number of styles and formats. He was influenced by the work of other still-life painters, including the "breakfast" pieces (ontbijtjes) of Willem Claesz Heda and the pronkstillevens or large sumptuous still lifes of Frans Snyders. His bouquets of flowers in glass vases are in the manner of Daniel Seghers and Jan Philip van Thielen while his compositions with porcelain bowls of fruit are indebted to the pioneers of this genre, Osias Beert and Jacob van Hulsdonck.

Frans Ykens is recorded as a citizen of Habsburg Netherlands. Classed in the genre floral painting. Recorded with the occupation painter. Classed in the genre still life.