Abraham de Vries (painter)

Abraham de Vries (ca.1590–1649 or 1650) was a Dutch painter who was one of the leading portraitists of his age. As he led a peripatetic lifestyle and worked in France, Antwerp and the Dutch Republic his stylistic qualities are difficult to pin down.

Little is known about the early life and training of Abraham de Vries. It is now generally believed that the artist was born in The Hague since when he joined the Guild of Saint Luke of The Hague in 1644 he paid the fees of a native son of the city. In the past he was mistakenly believed to have been a native of Rotterdam. He may have travelled to France as early as 1613 if the date on a landscape drawing made in Lyons that year is correct. By 1617 the artist was registered in the Rotterdam church administration.

De Vries traveled to Southern France (and possibly Italy) in the 1620s. During his period of residence in Aix-en-Provence around 1623-1624 he was the teacher of the Flemish artist Jan Cossiers who had travelled from his native Antwerp to the south of France. De Vries also spent time in Toulouse, Montpellier (1625), Bordeaux (1626) and Paris (1627-1628). During his stay in France be became acquainted with the prominent French scientist and humanist Nicolas-Claude Fabri de Peiresc who was a close friend of Rubens. De Vries met Rubens in person in 1629 during a stay in Paris.

After his return north, he later made several trips to Paris and Antwerp. He was recorded in Antwerp in 1628 and again in 1634 when he became a member of the local Guild of Saint Luke in July 1634. The Cardinal-Infante Ferdinand of Austria who was the Governor of the Spanish Netherlands saw a portrait by de Vries during his visit to Antwerp on 20 April 1635. This led to an invitation to work in the Brussels court city where his work was deemed superior to that of Anthony van Dyck. He was in Brussels in 1636 as testified by his inscription on a portrait which states it was made in Brussels.

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