A. Diepenbeke

Abraham van Diepenbeeck (1596–1675) was a Flemish painter, designer, and engraver associated with the Antwerp school and a close collaborator of Peter Paul Rubens. Born in ’s-Hertogenbosch, he trained initially in stained glass before settling in Antwerp, where he became a master in the Guild of St. Luke in 1638. Diepenbeeck worked across multiple media—painting, drawing, and print design—and his versatility made him one of the more inventive artists of the Baroque period. His early association with Rubens deeply shaped his compositional style, characterized by grandeur of movement, dramatic lighting, and refined draftsmanship.

Diepenbeeck produced designs for numerous book illustrations, allegorical series, and devotional works, often engraved by leading Flemish printmakers such as Jacob Neefs and Cornelis Galle. Among his best-known projects are the illustrations for Metamorphoses by Ovid and Icones Symbolicae by Otto van Veen, as well as his contributions to the visual culture of Antwerp’s Counter-Reformation. In addition to his work in print, he executed altarpieces and mythological paintings notable for their elegance and color harmony. Though less renowned than Rubens or Van Dyck, Diepenbeeck’s drawings and designs reveal a brilliant mind attuned to narrative and symbolism, and his influence extended into both Flemish decorative art and book illustration throughout the 17th century.