FRANCHOYS, Lucas the Elder
(b. 1574, Mechelen, d. 1643, Mechelen)

Portrait of Mathias Hovius

1612
Oil on canvas, 147 x 111 cm
Bowes Museum, Barnard Castle

Mathias Hovius (1542-1620), born Matthijs Van Hove, was the third Archbishop of Mechelen from 1596 to 1620. As Archbishop, Hovius presided over implementing the Catholic Reformation in the Spanish Netherlands.

This painting was formerly attributed to Phillippe de Champaigne.