The Hague. The patrons at these courts showed a preference for van Dyck's refined courtly style. He showed himself to be an eclectic painter who did not strive for originality but adapted and borrowed from the styles of other artists where he felt the commission demanded it. Portraits Pieter Thijs was in demand as a portrait painter. He gained in particular a reputation for large family portraits, a genre made popular by his teacher Anthony van Dyck. His portraits followed the style of van Dyck in the eloquence of the hands and the meticulous execution of the reflections on the shimmering fabric. Though a popular portrait painter, the early Flemish biographer Cornelis de Bie stated that his likenesses were criticized for not being like their subjects. A representative portrait painting by Thijs is the Portrait of Philips van de Werve and His Wife (c. 1661, Auctioned at Sotheby's on 7 July 2005, London, lot 10). Its composition recalls van Dyck's large family-group portraits painted in his late English period, which Thijs would have seen when he was a pupil of van Dyck. The figures in the group portrait also closely adhere to the van Dyckian type, especially the two children. Religious works His religious works were also influenced by the style of van Dyck. His paintings on the subject of the Descent from the Cross follow the composition and palette of Rubens who had produced some influential paintings on this theme. His history paintings also show the influence of French classicism, which was then coming into fashion. In these works he paid particular attention to prettiness and a polished finishing. He also borrowed from the Italian masters of the Cinquecento, such as Titian and Veronese. In this mature period from the 1660s onwards, Pieter Thijs usually relied on pyramidal, symmetrical compositions and he painted his female figures draped in tunics tied at the waist and wearing garments with folds in V-form. Collaborations As was common in 17th-century Antwerp, he often collaborated with other artists who were specialist painters. He added the figures to the compositions of various Antwerp animal specialists. Examples are the Huntsman with His Dogs and Game (:Cummer Museum of Art and Gardens) in collaboration with Pieter Boel and the Atalanta and Meleager Hunt the Calydonian Boar (John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art) in collaboration with Jan Fyt. Pieter Boel probably also painted the still life and