born March 22, 1599, Antwerp, Belg.
died Dec. 9, 1641, London, Eng.
Flemish painter.
Son of a well-to-do silk merchant, he was apprenticed to an Antwerp painter at 10. He soon came under the influence of Charles I . He gained a comfortable income from the many portraits he painted in Britain, and his life matched his clients' in luxury. His influence was pervasive and lasting; Flemish, Dutch, and German portraitists imitated his style and technique, and the 18th-century English portraitists, especially {{link=Gainsborough, Thomas">Thomas Gainsborough and Joshua Reynolds , were deeply indebted to him.