Anthonis Mor

Anthonis Mor
Anthonis Mor self-portrait,
Born	Anthonis Mor 1517 Utrecht, Netherlands
Died	1577 (aged 60) Antwerp
Nationality	Dutch
Known for	Painting
Movement	High Renaissance

Sir Anthonis Mor, also known as Anthonis Mor van Dashorst and Antonio Moro (c. 1517 – 1577) was a Netherlandish portrait painter, much in demand by the courts of Europe. He has also been referred to as Antoon, Anthonius, Anthonis or Mor van Dashorst, and as Antonio Moro, Anthony More, etc., but signed most of his portraits as Anthonis Mor.

Mor was born in Utrecht, Netherlands, by some estimation between 1516 and 1520. Little is known about his early life, except that his artistic education commenced under Jan van Scorel. His earliest known work is a portrait which is currently in a collection in , dated 1538.

A group of Knights of St. John at Utrecht, supposed to have been painted about 1541; and a picture of two pilgrims at the Gemäldegalerie, Berlin, dated 1544; and the portrait of an unknown woman, in the Lille gallery, were probably among his earliest works, although their authenticity has not been proven.

In 1547, Anthonis Mor was received as a member of the Venerable Guild of St. Luke at Antwerp, and shortly afterwards (about 1548) he attracted the attention of Cardinal Granvelle, Bishop of Arras, who became his steady patron. Of the portraits executed during the early period of his career as Granvelle's protege, two are especially notable: one of the bishop himself (in the imperial gallery in Vienna), and one of the Duke of Alba, which now belongs to the Hispanic Society of New York. Between 1549 and 1550 Prince Philip II of Spain (1527–1598) traveled around the Netherlands to present himself as the future ruler. Anthonis Mor painted his portrait in Brussels in 1549. He probably visited Italy (when exactly is not known), where he copied some works by Titian, notably the Danaë.

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