CRAYER, CASPAR DE

born Nov. 18, 1584, Antwerp, Spanish Netherlands [now in Belgium] died Jan. 27, 1669, Ghent Caspar also spelled Gaspard Flemish painter, who was strongly influenced by his friend Peter Paul Rubens. De Crayer was a pupil of Raphael Coxcie in Brussels, where he became a master in the painters' guild in 1607 and resided as a much-honoured citizen until 1664. In 1635 he was appointed court painter to the cardinal infant Ferdinand, for whose triumphal entry into Ghent he designed decorations. After Ferdinand's death in 1641, de Crayer received the title of painter to the king. In 1664 he moved to Ghent. De Crayer was the painter of a large number of altarpieces, which were produced with the help of many assistants and still abound in the churches and museums in Flanders and elsewhere in Europe. His pictures of secular subjects are rare. His artistic development runs parallel in various respects to that of Rubens, but he surpassed most other close followers of Rubens in thoughtfulness and compositional skill. His portraits are much admired.