François van Bleyswijck

François van Bleyswijck was an artist whose documented professional activity spanned the decade between 1671 and 1681. Bleyswijck’s output consisted primarily of graphic works, with fifteen individual pieces represented in major museum collections. These holdings, preserved notably by the Rijksmuseum, comprise fourteen high-quality prints and a single drawing, establishing the artist’s contribution to late seventeenth-century graphic art.

The verifiable works attributed to Bleyswijck reveal a focus on both historical portraiture and allegorical compositions. Among his most complex known pieces is the large-scale print Allegorische triomfoptocht van een vorst of veldheer (Allegorical triumphal procession of a prince or field marshal).

His documented portrait subjects focus heavily on influential ecclesiastical figures, confirming an engagement with theological and political history. These include prints depicting the Danish kerkhervormer (reformer) Johannes Taussanus, the German reformer Johannes Oecolampadius, and the English priest and theologian William Tyndale. Bleyswijck also created a portrait of a pivotal local figure, Frederik Schenk van Toutenburg, the Archbishop of Utrecht. The accessibility of these historic works in the public domain ensures continued study of the specialized field of François van Bleyswijck prints.