Peeter Sion

Peeter Sion or Peter Sion (between 1615 and 1625 – 21 August 1695) was a Flemish painter of landscapes, history paintings and genre scenes. His work was mainly produced for the export market and dealt with biblical stories. He also painted mythological subjects, genre scenes and vanitas still lifes/

Life Little is known about the life of Peeter Sion. He is believed to have been born in Antwerp between 1615 and 1625.

The artist is known to have worked in Antwerp for the Forchondt workshop, one of the most important exporters of Flemish art to all corners of Europe. Many of the works produced in the Forchondt workshop, including those of Peeter Sion, used copper as the support. This made it easier to export them from Antwerp to Spain where Forchondt had a trading post. From Seville a portion of the artworks where shipped to South America.

He died in Antwerp on 21 August 1695.

His style is close to the late Mannerism of Frans Francken the Younger and Guilliam Forchondt the Younger. Many of his works have a narrative character and recount stories of the Old and the New Testament. As is also common in the work of Francken, his compositions often include different sequences of the principal story in a single canvas. His work is characterized primarily by the quality of the drawing, as well as the large space occupied by the figures in the composition. Another feature of his style is the preference for white modeling, around which the shadows are traced. A drawing on the wall depicts Saint Jerome, the Christian saint who had chosen an ascetic life over a life of indulgence in Rome. The saint is often depicted in paintings in his study with a skull.