Espace Tajan, Paris. A solid bid for Francken whose works do not appear often at auction. Ambrosius was the third son of Nicolas (1520-1596) who founded a dynasty of artists. Ambrosius had a more active career than his elder brothers Hyeronimus, born in 1540, and Frans, born in 1542. Like them he was a pupil of Frans Floris and visited at 26 Fontainebleau where he probably admired the works of Rosso and Primatice who were to influence him greatly. He became a master in Antwerp in 1573 and lived there the rest of his life. Many of his works are now housed in the Museum of Antwerp and the Saint James church. One can say he perpuated Floris' œuvre however with a marked Italian influence added to those of Otto Venius and Maerten de Vos. Ambrosius painted many scenes of martyrdoms as well as Biblical subjects.
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