Pieter Snayers

Pieter Snayers (Antwerp 1592–Brussels 1666 or 1667) was a Flemish Baroque painter known for representations of historical battle scenes.Hans Vlieghe, "Flemish Art and Architecture 1585-1700", New Haven: Yale University Press (1998): 173. ISBN 0-3000-7038-1] Carl van de Velde, "Snayers, Pieter" "Grove Art Online". Oxford University Press, [accessed 9 March, 2008] .] He studied under Sebastiaen Vrancx before joining Antwerp's Guild of St. Luke in 1612. By 1628, Snayers was a citizen in Brussels.Konrad Renger and Claudia Denk, "Flämische Malerei des Barock in der Alten Pinakothek", Munich: Pinakothek-DuMont (2002): 167. ISBN 3-8321-7255-6] There, he worked first for Archduchess Isabella, and was later the court painter for Cardinal-Infante Ferdinand and Archduke Leopold Wilhelm. For them he painted scenes of victorious battles in the tradition of sixteenth-century tapestries. Snayers also collaborated with Peter Paul Rubens on several occasions, including the never-finished "Life of Henry IV" (1628–30) and the "Torre de la Parada" series ("c". 1637–1640). He also painted portraits of aristocracy in Brussels and large landscapes. Snayers's best-known pupil was Adam Frans van der Meulen.

nayers's battle scenes

Snayers historical battle scenes demonstrate a close attention to topographic accuracy. Frequently, his paintings show a shallow foreground that recedes sharply to show a besieged town from a bird's-eye perspective. Stylistically, his colouring was more subdued than his teacher Vrancx and reflects contemporary trends in Flemish and Dutch painting.

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