Theodoor van Thulden

Theodoor van Thulden (1606 – 1669) was a Flemish Baroque painter and engraver who worked alongside Rubens in Antwerp. His importance lies in bringing aspects of Flemish Baroque painting into the Dutch Republic and in serving as a frequent collaborator in Rubens' large workshop.

He trained first in his native 's-Hertogenbosch and, around 1621, moved to Antwerp, where he became a pupil of the portrait painter Abraham van Blijenberch. Between 1631 and 1633 or 1634 he lived in Paris, studying the Mannerist masters of the School of Fontainebleau. From this period comes a series of prints on the journeys of Odysseus, based on the paintings of Primaticcio and Niccolò dell'Abbate. Back in Antwerp he worked on the temporary decorations Rubens designed for the entry of Cardinal-Infante Ferdinand in 1635, and later contributed to the mythological series for the Torre de la Parada near Madrid. The Museo del Prado holds three of his works from that series, including Apollo Pursuing Daphne.

Although he settled in 's-Hertogenbosch and later in Oirschot, he continued to receive important commissions in the 1640s. His painting moved away from Rubens' Baroque exuberance toward a more sober and sentimental classicism. He produced portraits influenced by Van Dyck, altarpieces, and political allegories for the city hall of his native town, and took part in the decoration of the Huis ten Bosch in The Hague.