I have a conundrum on my hands.

Recently I did a post about one of my favourite Flemish painters,  Frans Snyders.  I mentioned his unique, individual, singular style, blah, blah, blah.  Well,  on a research jaunt for another post,  I ran into what I thought were his paintings; ones that I'd not seen.  They actually turned out to be those of his brother-in-law, Paul De Vos, from Antwerp.

Apparently (!!!),  he was HEAVILY influenced by Snyders.  So much so, in fact, that I'm mildly suspicious of my identifications;  I am not an expert by any means, and there is so much similar.   I'm confused.  As an amateur lover of the canvas and brush, I get painted into these little corners more often that I would care to admit.

So, I recommend that you decide for yourself.  Below are what have been identified by various sources on the web as de Vos,  and you can find my post and the images of Frans Snyders HERE.   Whatever the case,  the chaos of each provide a similarly startling experience,  so,  as the kids say,  it's all good.

Of all the artists in history,  I have a deep affection for the work of Flemish artists.  Why?  Well, along with Russians,  the Dutch and Flemish painters simply have what it takes to get inside my guts and build a nest.  They crawl in there,  then they start tugging at the bits of spiritual entrails inside me,  tearing at the unnameable gobbets that hang from my innards.

In other words, they get to me.

Foremost on that front is the 16th/17th century artist Frans Snyders.  The man took chaos and turned it into a visual symphony.   He grasped the real world and showed it to us at it's most brutal;  men killing animals,  animals killing animals,  animals engaged in hideous social cacophonies rarely witness in real life...yet somehow more true than life.  His specialty was excess.  If there was a table with butchered game,  it had corpse after corpse of a dozen or more types of animal and bird.  If an animal was being attacked,  it was locked in a terrifying, frenzied melee'!   I find that overwhelming hyper-reality invigourating.  There is nothing staid about Snyders' work.  Honestly,  I find it difficult to look at his paintings for too long, as they tap into something bestial inside me.  It's unsettling.

On the other hand, he has a fondness for paintings of hogs, which, as a former Banjo player,  I find highly amusing.