HUYS, Frans

Flemish engraver and draftsman. He was the brother of Pieter Huys and the brother-in-law of Hans Liefrinck I (c. 1518-1573).

A document from 1546 shows that he was master of the Antwerp GuildGLOSSARYAn association of the masters of a particular craft, trade or profession (painters, goldsmiths, surgeons, and so on) set up to protect its members' rights and interests. Such guilds existed in virtually every European city in the 16th century. The guild also monitored standards of work, acted as a court for those who brought their trade into disrepute, and provided assistance to members in need. of St Luke. He worked for the Antwerp publishers Hieronymus Cock, Hans Liefrinck I, and Bartholomaeus de Momper (1535-after 1597). Together with his brother Pieter Huys, he also worked for Christophe Plantin.

The earliest dated work by him dating back to 1555. His work consisted solely of engravings, and he reproduced only the work of other artists. He was strongly influenced by the Italian art of prints, probably through Giorgio Ghisi, with whom he collaborated.

Huys engraved many portraits of rulers of his day, humorous genreGLOSSARYIn a broad sense, the term is used to mean a particular branch or category of art; landscape and portraiture, for example, are genres of painting, and the essay and the short story are genres of literature. scenes by Cornelis Massys, etchings and drawings by Pieter Bruegel the Elder, such as the Battle in the Strait of Messina.