Michiel Sweerts

Flemish, 1618–1664

BiographyBorn in Brussels in 1618, Sweerts was a Flemish painter who was particularly active in Italy, Syria and India. Little is known about his childhood and earlier years; he arrived in Rome in the mid-1640s and lived there until at least 1652. There he became acquainted with the Accademia di San Luca, where he would sit in on some of their meetings as an associate. In 1651 Sweerts was employed by an Antwerp merchant named Jan Deutz. He painted several portraits of the Deutz family, as well as several other commissions.

By 1656 Sweerts had returned to Brussels where he was able to obtain permission to open his own academy of drawing. He then completed a series of engravings to serve as teaching aids for his students. These engravings reflect Sweerts' interest in the observation of daily life and classical sculpture. Sweerts stressed the importance of studying classical works as an elemental part of an artist's training.

Sweerts left for the Far East in 1662, where he traveled constantly and completed many other works. He died in 1664, shortly after reaching India from Isfahan