Gijsbrecht Leytens

Gijsbrecht Leytens, formerly known as Meester van de Winterlandschappen or Master of the Winter Landscapes, (1586– after 1643 and before 1656) was a Flemish painter who specialized in landscapes and in particular winter landscapes.

Life He was born in Antwerp. He became a pupil of Jacob Vrolijck in 1598. He joined the Antwerp Guild of Saint Luke as a master in 1611. He married Maria van Omel.

There was a lot of demand for the winter landscapes painted by Leytens as is confirmed by the fact that they were often incorporated in the art gallery paintings of Frans Francken the Younger. Between 1617 en 1627 he had a number of pupils demonstrating an active workshop.

Since there is a record showing he was alive in 1643 while in 1657 he is recorded as 'the late' he must have died between those years. It is known that he painted six marine paintings but these are now lost.

As was common in Antwerp artist circles in the 17th century Gijsbrecht Leytens regularly collaborated with other painters who were specialists in a particular genre. Inventories of the 17th century provide evidence for collaborations between Leytens and artists such as Frans Francken the Younger, Sebastiaen Vrancx and Vincent Malo, who would paint the figures while Leytens painted the landscapes. Often Leytens reused his landscape designs and let his collaborators add different figures to them thus creating a different theme. This points to serial work in his workshop due to the great demand for his work.