Allegory of the Death of a Religious Man

Few drawings by Francken survive. This example, which compares closely to a signed sheet in the Louvre (inv. 19981), was presumably intended as a compositional study or model for a painting, though no such picture by the artist or from his prolific studio is known. In the drawing, a man on his deathbed is attended by weeping and praying family members and by a priest administering the sacrament of Last Rites. At left, angels and demons seem to vie for the man’s soul and, above, Christ appears within an aureole of clouds. The overtly Catholic iconography is reinforced by the prominently placed ritual objects: the Crucifix at right; the monstrance and jar of anointing oil on the table at left; the priest’s biretta on the stool in the foreground; and the rosary held by the boy kneeling next to the priest. Stark shadows rendered with blue and brown ink deftly applied with brush convey the intensity of the celestial light streaming from above.

Francken may well have known an etching designed by fellow Antwerp artist Peeter van der Borcht (ca. 1545-1608) entitled The Christian on His Deathbed (New Hollstein vol. 12, no.127). In this more overtly allegorical image of a man receiving his last rites, angels (including Saint Michael) battle demons, while a multitude of other divine figures, including Christ, God the Father, and the Virgin, hover above, supported by clouds and surrounded by radiant light. For his drawing, Francken employs similar iconography, but situates the scene within a contemporary domestic setting. This well-appointed interior, while unsurprising in the work of a painter of kunstkammer pictures, also brings to mind depictions (by Van der Borcht and others) of the Death of the Rich Man from the Parable of Lazarus and the Rich Man (see, for example, 17.37.130 and 51.501.2210).

(JSS, 8/23/2018)