Artist

(b. 1654, Antwerpen, d. 1708, Madrid)

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Details

Flemish painter, mainly active in Spain where known as Juan Vanchesel el Mozo. He was part of a family of painters, son of Jan van Kessel I, grandchild of Jan Brueghel the Elder. He likely trained under his father. Rather than becoming a master in the Antwerp Guild of St. Luke, he moved to Madrid where he became a painter to the court for which he made mainly portraits. He gained recognition at court under the reign of Charles II of Spain for the portraits he made of Queen Marie Louise d'Orléans, first wife of Charles II. In 1686 he became officially the painter of the Queen. He is said to have received a commission from the Queen to paint scenes on the ceiling of her chambers in the Royal Alcazar of Madrid. Upon the death of the first wife of Charles II, van Kessel continued to serve as a portrait painter at the court and gained the favour of the king's new wife, Mariana of Neuburg. With the change of ruling dynasty from the Habsburgs to the Bourbons with the accession to the throne of Philip V of Spain in 1700, the artist's popularity at court experienced a decline. This was likely due to his continued close relationship with the widowed former Queen. The new king was not happy with his work possibly due to the ascendancy of French tastes at the Bourbon court. He is said to have painted portraits, flower pieces, still-lifes, game pieces and art galleries. He was a specialist of the genre of group portraits. However, it is not entirely clear whether he really painted still-lifes and whether the attribution to him of still-lifes is due to confusion with other artists with a similar name all active around the same time. //

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Category	Artists
Artists by letter	K
Artist nationality	Flemish