BOSSUIT, Francis van
(b. 1635, Bruxelles, d. 1692, Amsterdam)

Biography

Flemish sculptor, trained as a sculptor in Antwerp and Brussels. Later, around 1655, he travelled to Italy, where he worked in a number of cities. There Van Bossuit studied Classical art and the work of his Italian contemporaries. In Florence he worked with Balthazar Permoser at the Academy, in Rome he made numerous copies of antique statues and contacted the Bentvueghels group of Netherlandish artists.

Around 1685 he returned to the Low Countries and settled in Amsterdam. Van Bossuit made numerous small reliefs. Prints after his designs were often used by artists in the eighteenth century as models. He achiecved great fame in Amsterdam for his ivory reliefs. Engravings of his work were published in the 'Cabinet de l'art de sculpture par le fameux sculpteur Francis van Bossuit' in Amsterdam in 1727 by Mattys Pool.