David Teniers, the Younger
David Teniers, the Younger, a Flemish painter, was born in Antwerp on 15 December 1610 to David Teniers the Elder and Dymphna de Wilde, and died in Brussels on 25 April 1690. Jan Bruegel the Elder, known as de velours, became his father-in-law when he married Anna Bruegel. The bride's tutor and witness at the wedding was none other than Peter Paul Rubens.
He was always a prolific painter thanks in part to his contacts with the art business in Antwerp and to his family relations. His inn scenes, in the tradition of Flemish painters, quickly made him famous. He borrowed from Adriaen Brouwer his caricatural depictions of cantankerous people in dark, smoky interiors. He was predominantly interested in the play of light. In later works, his view became less satirical and his palette lighter. His idyllic scenes of the Flemish countryside date from this period.
Teniers was also given the responsibility of putting together a collection of artworks for the Archduke Leopold Wilhelm von Hapsburg, Governor of the Spanish Netherlands, and he played an important role in the creation of the Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp in 1664.
Teniers has always been extremely famous. In the 17th century, his works were among the most sought after by art collectors, and his style even influenced the iconography of decorative tapestries.
