(b Herentals, c. 1544; d Antwerp, 16 Oct 1618). Painter and draughtsman, brother of (1) Hieronymus Francken I. In 1569 he was in the service of the Bishop of Tournai, then in 1570 he is recorded at Fontainebleau, where he may have had the chance to study the works of Rosso Fiorentino and Francesco Primaticcio. By 1573-4 Ambrosius I was back in Antwerp, and at about that time he became a master in the Guild of St Luke; he was appointed an associate deacon of the guild in 1581 and a deacon in 1582. Between 1594 and 1605 he employed four apprentices. Such large altarpieces as the Miracle of the Loaves and Fishes (1598) for Antwerp Cathedral, the Martyrdom of St Jacob (1608) for the St Jacobskerk and the Last Supper for the St Joriskerk in Antwerp (all Antwerp, Kon. Mus. S. Kst.) are stiffly composed of rather muscular figures based on Classical prototypes. The artist's debt to Marten de Vos can be seen in the opulently draped robes and other details. These huge altarpieces influenced ecclesiastical taste, and Ambrosius I's many surviving works attest to his popularity in his own day; he had a considerable impact on his contemporaries.
Part of the Francken family
See the Abbreviations for further details.
