Justus SUSTERMANS
1597–1681, Belgium

Sustermans is chiefly notable for his portraits of members of the Medici family as he was their court painter. His work can be found in both the Palatina Gallery and the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, and in many other galleries around the globe. During his lifetime he was considered as the finest portrait painter in Italy. He studied early on in Flanders and Antwerp, possibly with artists such as Willem de Vos (a nephew of the painter Marten de Vos) and also Frans Pourbus the younger. He was eventually invited to Florence under the patronage of the Medici Family where he studied Italian portraitists such as Il Guercino, the Spanish Diego Velázquez and France’s Pierre Mignard. While in Italy he also became influenced by the Venetian artists.

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