MICHAU, Théobald
Flemish painter. In 1686 he was a pupil of Lucas Achtschellinck (1626-1699) in Brussels, where he became a master in 1698. From 1710 he was an independent master in the Guild of St Luke in Antwerp. Most of his paintings are small-scale cabinet pictures, some on copper. They depict landscapes, river views, scenes of winter, markets and villages, peopled with tiny figures strolling or working, sometimes celebrating or drinking, often dressed in blue or red and accompanied by a few animals. Typical examples include Landscape with a Group of Farmers (Valenciennes, Musée des Beaux-Arts), Landscape (Brunswick, Herzog Anton Ulrich-Museum) and Landscape with Figures (Antwerp, Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten).
Michau’s anecdotal scenes continue the 17th-century tradition of genre paintings by Jan Brueghel the Elder, David Teniers the Younger and Pieter Bout. His use of colour is indebted to Brueghel but lacks the same strength, and the stocky figures seem inspired by Teniers. In comparison with these masters, however, Michau seems a mere 18th-century imitator who did not manage to contribute many original variations. Yet he was successful in his day; engravings of several of his works were made by Jacques-Philippe Lebas (1707-1783) and his pupils, and Jacques d’Arthois asked him to paint the figures in some landscapes. Charles, 4th Duke of Lorraine (d 1780), then Governor of the southern Netherlands, bought ten of his works.
