JANSSENS, or JANSENS, VAN NUYSSEN, ABRAHAM (1567-1632), painter, was born at Antwerp in 1567. He studied under Jan Snellinek, was a " master " in 1602, and in 1607 was dean of the master-painters. Till the appearance of Rubens he was considered perhaps the best historical painter of his time. The styles of the two artists are not unlike. In correctness of drawing Janssens excelled his great contemporary ; in bold composition and in treatment of the nude he equalled him; but in faculty of colour and in general freedom of disposition and touch he fell far short. A master of chiaroscuro, he gratified his taste for strong contrasts of light and shade in his torch-lights and similar effects. Good examples of this master are to be seen in the Antwerp museum and the Vienna gallery. The stories of his jealousy of Rubens and of his dissolute life are quite unfounded. He died at Antwerp in 1632.

JANSSENS, or JANSENS, VICTOR HosOnIUS (16611739), painter, was born at Brussels in 1664. After seven years in the studio of an obscure painter named Volders, he spent four years in the household of the duke of Holstein. The next eleven years Janssens passed in Rome, where he took eager advantage of all the aids to artistic study, and formed an intimacy with Tempesta, in whose landscapes he frequently inserted figures. Rising into popularity, he painted a large number of cabinet historical scenes ; but, on his return to Brussels, the claims of his increasing family restricted him almost entirely to the larger and more lucrative size of picture, of which very many of the churches and palaces of the Netherlands contain examples. Iu 1718 Janssens was invited to Vienna, where he stayed three years, and was made painter to the emperor. The statement that he visited England is based only upon the fact that certain fashionable interiors of the time in that country have been attributed to him. Janssens's colouring was good, his touch delicate, and his taste refined. • He died in 1739.