Lucas de Wael was a Flemish painter, engraver and merchant.
Background
He was born in Antwerp and worked for some time in Genoa in Italy before returning to Antwerp, where he died. Lucas de Wael was born into an artistic family in Antwerp as the son of the painter January de Wael I (1558-1633). His mother Gertrude de Jode came from a family of artists: her father was the cartographer Gerard de Jode and her brother was the engraver Peter de Jode I. He first studied with his father and was then a pupil of January Brueghel the Elder.
Career
Lucas possibly travelled to France at a young age. Genoa was at the time an attractive destination for artists since the competition between artists there was less intense than in the leading cultural centres Rome, Florence and Venice, while Genoa was a thriving port city where a large number of potential patrons and collectors lived. The workshop of the brothers de Wael in Genoa became the centre of the colony of Flemish artists who resided in or passed through the city.
These Flemish artists could take advantage of the work and artistic activity that the workshop of de Wael brothers attracted.
The brothers provided a home, materials and tools, they assisted their compatriots with their local integration, passed on recommendations to clients and formulated competition rules. When Anthony van Dyck visited Genoa, he stayed with the brothers and Cornelis was one of his closest collaborators in the city.
Van Dyck painted a portrait of the brothers that was later engraved by Wenceslas Hollar. The brothers were also involved in trading activities with their hometown dealing in a wide variety of goods.
Lucas was the father of Anton and January Baptist de Wael.