Joos van Craesbeeck
Joos van Craesbeeck was a Flemish Baroque artist who lived from circa 1605/1606 to 1660. He was one of the leading genre painters of his day. He depicted a range of social classes, from the middle class to the very poor. However, it was the characters engaged in less polite activities, such as drinking, smoking, and gambling that he preferred to paint.
Van Craesbeeck was born in Neerlinter in modern day Belgium to a prosperous family. He originally trained as a baker but switched the focus of his career early on to that of a painter. This is likely due to the flourishing of the arts and opportunities for artists in Antwerp at this time. Though he did continue to bake. He studied art under Adriaen Brouwer who had a huge influence on his style. Brouwer took the genre art style and applied it to lower social classes. This had not been done before. He also taught Van Craesbeeck the craft of painting tronies. A lot of Van Craesbeeck’s self-portraits are tronies.
Tronies are an unconventional style of portrait in which people were depicted with exaggerated facial expressions, and often in costume. These portraits were quite popular during the Dutch golden age. They were bought by wealthy merchants with a healthy sense of humor. The Dutch master, Rembrandt, was a peer who also painted tronies.
In 1633/1634, Van Craesbeeck became a master in Antwerp’s Guild of Saint Luke as both a painter and a baker. He continued with his art, painting tavern scenes. After Brouwer’s death in 1638, Van Craesbeeck turned to other artists for inspiration. Likely from the influence of artists in Antwerp’s Guild of Saint Luke, his art developed. He added rustic genre scenes to his subject repertoire. He also painted several religious themed paintings. These were large-scale, detailed works that clearly exhibited his talent.
In 1651, Van Craesbeeck joined the Brussels painter’s guild. His art became bawdier, and he became more popular for it. His works were popular among the wealthy who enjoyed his sense of humor. Joos van Craesbeeck died in 1660 at approximately 55 years old.
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