The Collection of paintings of Sebastiaan Leerse

Sebastiaan Leerse entered the collection of Frans Francken the Younger in 1625, when the artist painted the work as part of his genre scenes depicting art collectors and their assembled works. The painting remained in the artist’s family until it entered the Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp, where it has been held since its acquisition.

The work is held at the Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp, where it is catalogued under the inventory number of the Vlaamse Kunstcollectie. It was painted in 1625 by Frans Francken the Younger using oil on panel, measuring 77 cm in height and 114 cm in width. The painting has been part of several exhibitions at the museum, including a retrospective of the artist’s oeuvre in 2018 and a thematic display on 17th‑century genre scenes in 2022.

Sebastiaan Leerse appears as a depicted figure within this interior scene, reflecting the artist's engagement with connoisseurship and artistic exchange in early 17th-century Antwerp. The work exemplifies genre conventions of the time while incorporating elements of private collection display, situating it within broader scholarly discussions of artistic patronage and visual culture. Its representation of a named individual highlights the period's interest in artistic networks and the material culture of art collecting.

Frans Francken the Younger, an Antwerp‑based Flemish painter, completed the oil on canvas The Collection of Paintings of Sebastiaan Leerse in 1625. The composition presents an interior filled with framed artworks, sculptures, and assorted curiosities, centered on a seated couple surrounded by the amassed pieces. The scene exemplifies the early‑seventeenth‑century fascination with private galleries and the visual cataloguing of a collector’s holdings.