Frans Francken the Younger was the most illustrious representative of his family. This prolific painter worked first with his father, then his brother and lastly with his son. He became the head of the family studio which produced countless paintings featuring religious or secular subjects. He held an important position in his home town and numerous documents bear witness to his contemporaries’ esteem for him.

Frans Francken the Younger trained in his father’s studio. He was admitted as a master of the Academy of Saint Luke in Antwerp in 1605 and appointed dean in 1614. After the death of his father, the house of Frans II became one of the most productive studios in Antwerp. He continued the collaboration he had begun with his brother Hieronymus in their father’s studio, and later worked with his son Frans III. He tackled a wide variety of genres: biblical, mythological, historical and allegorical. He also painted kunstkamers, which were highly prized by collectors.