Franciscus de Neve (II)

Franciscus de Neve (II) (also: Frans de (II) Neve, Fraciscus de Neuff, Francesco della Neve and nicknames: Bloosaerken and Blaserken) (1632, Antwerp – after 1704) was a Flemish painter and engraver. He is known for his late Baroque religious and mythological scenes and landscapes. He had an international career in Italy, Southern Germany and Austria where he worked for aristocratic patrons and churches; He returned to his native Flanders later in his life.

Franciscus de Neve (II) was born in Antwerp where he was baptised on 23 February 1632. He was the son of Franciscus de Neve (I), who was also a painter. Because early biographers such as Arnold Houbraken and Jean-Baptiste Descamps did not realise that there were two artists named Franciscus de Neve, they confused and merged the lives of father and son and placed the father incorrectly in Rome after 1660. The confusion between the two artists still continues to this day. Only recently have art historians attempted to disentangle the biographies and oeuvres of father and son de Neve.

There is no information about his training. He was in Rome from 1660 to 1670 where he became a member of the Bentvueghels, an association of mainly Dutch and Flemish artists working in Rome. It was customary for the Bentvueghels to adopt an appealing nickname, the so-called 'bent name'. De Neve received the bentname Bloosaerken (also written as Blaserken).

In Rome, he first lived with Pieter van Mander, then with Hieronymus Galle in 1661-1662 and later with Lodewijk Snaijers in 1665-1666. According to Houbraken he received praise while in Rome for his ability to paint according to nature. In 1661, he made paintings for the Palazzo Doria-Pamphili. This was a prestigious commission as he worked alongside prominent painters such as Pietro da Cortona. The Flemish painters Cornelis de Wael and Abraham Brueghel who were working in Rome at the time were also active as art dealers dealt in pictures of de Neve. They were instrumental in supporting the artist's career in Italy.

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