(Antwerp 1581–1642)
The Arrest of Christ,
signed lower right: Do Ffranck,
oil on copper, 58 x 77 cm, framed

Another version of this composition is conserved in the Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister, Kassel (see U. Härting, Frans Francken II, Freren 1989, p. 280, cat. no. 184).

The present copper, showing the torchlit arrest of Christ, with Saint Peter in the foreground cutting the ear of the servant of the High Priest of the Temple, is a characteristically colourful and diverse narrative painting from the hand of Frans Francken the Younger. The profusion of human forms whirling about each other in the centre, with swirling, Flemish-style foliage above, and Jesus’s Agony in the Garden of Gethsemane shown in the background to the right all enrich this highly innovative composition. In the centre Christ’s tormented face meets the gaze of his betrayer Judas, shown with his typical iconographic signature of flowing red hair. The moon in the night sky to the right, and the rays of the light indicating the presence of God in the clouds to the left, along the cast aside lantern on the ground, all provide dynamic and dramatic lighting effects to this arresting scene.

The son of Frans Francken I, Francken the Younger’s exceptional artistic talent was recognised from an early age, and encouraged both by his father and his uncle Hieronymus I. In 1605 he was made a master of the Antwerp Guild of St. Luke. His repertoire included cabinet paintings, genre scenes, allegories, gallery paintings, still lifes and altarpieces. As can be seen in the present work, Francken was specialised in depicting figures - often painting staffage in works for Tobias Verhaecht, Abraham Govaerts, Alexander Keirincx, Joos de Momper the Younger and Peeter Neeffs. Some of the pictorial subjects he introduced were ground-breaking for Flemish painting, such as gallery paintings or the depiction of monkeys in genre scenes (so-called ‘singeries’). He was succeeded by his son Frans III, who took over the family workshop.