DIEPENBEECK, Abraham van

Flemish painter. He was the son of a glass painter and initially was trained in his father’s trade. He was admitted to the Antwerp Guild of St Luke in 1622 as a glass-painter. At first his activities seem to have consisted of designing and painting stained-glass windows for various churches and monasteries in Antwerp.

Monumental painting only seems to have been a minor part of Van Diepenbeeck’s activities. Of much greater importance was his role in the production of drawings and oil sketches intended as designs, not only for stained glass windows but also for prints. Only after 1630 Diepenbeeck also began to paint and draw, and he 1638 he enrolled as a master painter. His paintings display the strong stylistic and compositional influence of Peter Paul Rubens, the leading painter in Antwerp at the time.

Diepenbeeck is mostly known for his drawings and engravings. Most of his designs for prints were commissioned by the Antwerp publishers Van Meurs and Moretus, but he also printed individual engravings on his own account. He also made designs for tapestries.