Huybrecht Beuckeleer

Huybrecht Beuckeleer, Huybrecht Beuckelaer or the Monogrammist HB (Antwerp, 1535/40 – possibly in England, after 1605 and before 1625) was a Flemish painter who is mainly known for his genre paintings, still lifes and portraits. He was trained in Antwerp and also worked in Italy, France and England. In England he was court painter to Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester.

In 1997 the artist was identified with the artist known by the notname 'Monogrammist HB' and as a result more works have been attributed to him. Although the artist only left a small body of work, he played a role in the development of genre and still life painting in Northern Europe.

Details about the life of the artist are scarce. Huybrecht Beuckeleer was born in Antwerp in a family of painters. His father Mattheus Beuckelaer was registered as a master in the Antwerp Guild of Saint Luke in 1535. Huybrecht is believed to have been the brother of Joachim Beuckelaer who was a prominent painter of kitchen and market scenes. His father's sister Kathelijne was married to Pieter Aertsen, a Dutch painter active in Antwerp who was best known for his market and kitchen scenes.

Huybrecht Beuckeleer likely studied initially with his father. He is presumed to have trained also in the workshop of his uncle Pieter Aertsen. By the early 1560s, Aertsen had left for Amsterdam. Huybrecht 's brother Joachim operated at that time a successful workshop in which he produced kitchen and market scenes. There is uncertainty about the role of Huybrecht in his brother's workshop. However it is clear that the brothers' early works were heavily influenced by Aertsen in style as well as subject matter. It is known that the artist collaborated with Antonis Mor for day wages just like his brother.

There is evidence of extensive travel in the period 1567-68. Huybrecht was mentioned in Antwerp in January 1567. Not long thereafter he was said to be 'travelling in various foreign countries in order to see the land and learn the language, and to practise his trade as a painter and thus earn his living'. It has been suggested on stylistic grounds that he may have trained in Bronzino's workshop in Florence as early as the mid-1550s. There is no documentary evidence to support this hypothesis. In September 1568 Huybrecht Beuckeleer had returned to Antwerp where he married a woman with whom he had a son. His wife was recorded as deceased in April 1569. He inherited a rent on a house from her. In 1574 there is a record of him sending from Bordeaux a letter to the mother of his first wife telling her that he is faring better there than in Antwerp.

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