Antwerp Masters – two studio paintings, early 18th

Both in oil on canvas, in a gilt style frame with lavish relief decoration, signed at the bottom "Francois Xavier Verbeeck 1686 - 1755". The atelier of a painter with a self-portrait of Verbeeck (?) sitting at the easel in a full-bottomed wig and in slashed garb, antique sculptures in the foreground, preliminary sketches, palette knives etc., as well as an assistant with brushes, palette and mahlstick, numerous baroque portraits and a landscape with dense foliage in the background. Size of the painting 48 x 58 cm, size of the frame 68 x 78 cm.
Plus a sculptor's studio, with customers inspecting sculptures and drawings in the foreground, a globe and an artist at work with hammer and chisel. The background with columns, revealing a view of a Mediterranean landscape. Size of the painting 52 x 59 cm, size of the frame 72 x 80 cm. The painting re-lined and restored.
Rare, painstakingly designed scenes, offering detailed insight into the workshop practice of baroque artists.
Provenance: Heinrich Höch collection, Munich.
Condition: II