Sculpture in Flanders

Many Flemish sculptors were extremely prolific, and some, like Francois Duquesnoy, met with success abroad. The most gifted and famous member of a family of artists, Duquesnoy worked in Rome from 1618 onwards and made his name as a brilliant interpreter of the classical style. Later in the century, the influence of Rubens extended to sculpture, as did that of Roman Baroque. This is evident in the work of Artus Quellinus the Elder (1609-68), a sculptor of note who was active in Amsterdam, where he was commissioned in 1650 to carve sculptures for the new town hall.Lucas Fayd'herbe (1617-97), a pupil of Rubens, was a gifted ivory carver, architect, and sculptor. Among his more famous works are ranked the statues of the Apostles in the church of Saints Michael and Gudula in Brussels, the funerary monument of Bishop Cruesen in Malines Cathedral and, in the same city, the reliefs in Notre-Dame de Hanswyck. The most outstanding of the Walloon sculptors was Jean Delcour (1627-1707), who studied with Bernini in Rome before returning to Liege in 1657. Many artists enriched the churches with elaborately decorated altars, choirstalls, screens, confessionals, and pulpits. One of the finest examples is the large wooden pulpit carved by Hendrick Frans Verbruggen for Brussels Cathedral in 1699.

 Francois Duquesnoy

                                                          

Artus Quellinus

                                                        

 Lucas Faydherbe

                                                     

Henricus-FranciscusVerbrugghen