Mattheus Borrekens

Mattheus Borrekens or Mattheus Borkens (Antwerp, baptized on 7 July 1615 – Antwerp, 25 December 1670) was a Flemish engraver, printmaker and draughtsman. He was a reproductive artist and worked on some important publications in the Southern Netherlands. He mainly treated Christian religious subjects and portraits.

Life Mattheus Borrekens was born in Antwerp where he was baptized on 7 July 1615. He was the son of Abraham Borrekens and Elisabeth Janssens. His older brother Jan Baptist later became a painter and art dealer.

He married Anna Uyt ten Eeckhout on 1 October 1639. The couple would have 9 children. Borrekens was active as a reproductive printmaker who made prints after the works of leading Flemish artists. He was also a captain of the local civil militia and was therefore referred to as Capiteyn Matthias Borckens.

In 1648 a first edition of the prints was published in Antwerp by Daniel Middeler under the title Celeberrimi legati ad pacificandum Christiani nominis orbem, legati ad Monasterium et Osnabrugas ex omni pene gentium nationumque genera missi. Ad vivum Anselmi v. Hulle penicillo expressi eiusque cura et aere per ingeniores huius aevi sculptores caelo representati. This edition contained about 35 to 37 plates. The engravings were also sold individually, so that each diplomat could assemble a personal selection of portraits and have them bound with a specially printed title page. As a result, no two of these anthologies are the same in the selection and sequence of the sitters. In 1648 van Hulle had 39 engravings produced and in 1649 another 43. Borrekens created original engravings for this publication such as the portrait of Willem Ripperda, Johann Krane and others. These works show his ability in the creation of large format engravings and the design of the rich emblems.