Petrus Johannes van Reysschoot

Petrus Johannes van Reysschoot or Pieter van Reysschoot (Ghent, 18 January 1702 – Ghent, 22 or 24 February 1772) was a Flemish painter and printmaker who is known for his genre scenes, hunting scenes, landscapes, portraits and Christian religious subjects.

He spent a large part of his career in England, which earned him the nickname den Engelschman "the Englishman"). In England, he painted history and sporting (i.e., hunting) scenes and was a portrait painter working on commissions particularly from the Midlands gentry.

Life Petrus Johannes van Reysschoot was born in Ghent as the son of Frans and Amelberghe vanden Neste. He was the first painter in a family which would include a large number of painters in the 18th century. He studied in France where he was registered at the Académie Royale in Paris in 1730 and later won a prize.

Between circa 1736 and 1743, the artist resided and worked in England. In England, he painted history and sporting (i.e., hunting) scenes. He was also a portrait painter working on commissions, particularly from the Midlands gentry. The painting was delivered in 1657 and placed with much pomp in the Guild Hall in November of that year. A small-scale version of the composition not including the portraits was created by the Ghent painter Filips Karel Marissal and also placed in the Guild Hall (both works are now in the Ghent City Museum).

Van Reysschoot was among the first protectors of the Ghent's Royal Academy of Fine Arts. His nephew, Petrus Norbertus van Reysschoot, became one of the most distinguished professors of this institution.

The artist died in the house on the Overpoortstraat, which had remained his property, and was buried by the care of the Alexian brothers on 26 February 1772. In the mortuary book held by the brothers, he is registered as an unmarried painter.

Van Reysschoot was much in demand for his sporting conversation pieces. This genre, which was originally introduced in England by the painter Peter Tillemans of Antwerp, had become popular with the English gentry in the 18th century. Examples are The Meet and The Kill (both in the Museum of Fine Arts, Ghent). They were painted for Sir John Frederick of Southwick Park in Hampshire. They show the lord and his party before and during a hunt at his Hascombe Estate in Surrey.