(1590-1661)
Daniel
Seghers was born in Antwerp in 1590. He was a pupil of
Jan
Brueghel the Elder and joined the St. Lukas Guild of Antwerp in 1611.
On December 10, 1614 he became a lay brother of the Jesuit order and took
his vows in Brussels in 1625. After Seghers joined a monastery, he worked
for high-ranking rulers, whom he was allowed to receive there. He got commissions
from numerous European princes, such as Prince Frederick Henry of Orange
and Nassau, who repeatedly sent him gifts. He was visited in his studio
by potentates such as Charles I and Charles II of England, and the Archdukes
Ferdinand and Leopold Wilhelm.
Seghers specialized in painting garlands of flowers to frame religious
scenes. This style can be traced back to the
Madonna
in a Floral Wreath, by
Rubens
and Jan Brueghel the Elder. But unlike the mentioned painting, Seghers
paid more attention to a flower motif, trying to recover their spiritual
symbolism, and religious scenes served to him as a background.
Seghers was famous far beyond the borders of his country. He received
a large number of commissions, was also renowned as a landscape artist
and exerted a lasting influence on a large number of pupils.
Artist died in Antwerp in 1661.