Summary
Huysmans, an artist from Antwerp first recorded in England in 1662, is particularly associated with the court of the Roman Catholic Catherine of Braganza (1638-1705), queen to Charles II. Huysmans was most likely a Roman Catholic too and is said to have styled himself 'her Majesty's Painter' (Vertue Notebooks II, Walpole Society, 1931-2, 20, p.124). He produced several works for Catherine, including religious images as well as portraits. Most spectacularly he painted her as a holy shepherdess, seated on a riverbank surrounded by ducks, lambs and putti (Royal Collection), typical of the exuberant Continental baroque style he practised. The portrait was admired by the famous diarist Samuel Pepys (1633-1703) who saw it on a visit to Huysmans' studio in 1664, along with portraits of her maids of honour… (read more)
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