Gillis Claeissens

Gillis Claeissens or Egidius Claeissens (Bruges, 1526 – Bruges, 17 December 1605) was a Flemish painter of portraits and altarpieces and a member of a prominent family of artists originating in Bruges. It has only been possible to distinguish Gillis Claeissens' work from that of his father and siblings after scholars discovered a contract with the artist for the painting of a triptych. It was further discovered in 2015 that he artist can be identified with the Monogrammist G.E.C. These discoveries have allowed to recognise Gillis Claeissens as an important portraitist alongside Pieter Pourbus in 16th century Bruges.

Life Gillis Claeissens was born in Bruges as the second son of Pieter Claeissens the Elder and Marie Meese. His father was a history painter and portraitist and his grandfather Alard Claeissens was also a painter. Gillis had three younger brothers of whom Antoon (1541/41–1613) and Pieter (c. 1535–1623) both became painters while a third brother Ambrosius was a master goldsmith.

Gillis Claeissens was admitted as a master of the Guild of St Luke of Bruges on 18 October 1566. He remained in his father's workshop until 1570, while his brother Antoon joined that of Pieter Pourbus. Both Gillis and Antoon enjoyed the financial support of their father before they became artists recognized in their own right. Gillis Claeissens was an advisor to the Guild of St Luke of Bruges in the guild years 1570–1571, 1572–1573 and 1584–1585. He was the head of the Guild in the periods 1577–1578, 1581–1583 and 1604–1605.

Claeissens married Elisabeth Boelandts sometime between 1576 and 1586. At the time of death of his wife in 1609 the couple was childless. The artist did have an illegitimate son called Gillis Claeissens the Younger who enrolled in the Guild of St. Luke of Brussels on 20 February 1601.

His portraits are typically of fairly modest dimensions. They are distinguished by their refined courtly style, which may have been indebted to French models. Unlike Pieter Pourbus who adhered to humanist principles in his portraits by portraying his sitters in different, active attitudes, Gillis depicted his sitters in similar frozen poses and devoted himself much more to the suggestion of richness in fabric expression and jewellery. He showed a painstaking attention to the rendering of the material of costumes and jewellery. His sitters are usually represented in static and frozen poses, with slightly enlarged eyes. Their rosy and smooth skin is shot through with fine white lines which express the reflection of the light. These characteristics are also seen in the works of his brothers Antoon and Pieter the Younger.