Godefried Hermans, Abbot of Tongerlo

Herreyns employs a restrained neoclassical palette, using chiaroscuro to isolate the figure against a dark backdrop. The illumination highlights the abbot’s face and the texture of the fur‑lined garment, while a golden, jewel‑adorned religious object placed on a table adds a subtle decorative element.

Created in 1797, the portrait reflects Herreyns’s position as one of the last Flemish artists influenced by the Baroque legacy of Peter Paul Rubens. The painting entered the Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp’s holdings, where it remains on display as part of the museum’s representation of late‑Baroque and early‑neoclassical portraiture.

Herreyns’s career spanned a period of transition from the exuberant Flemish Baroque to the more restrained neoclassicism that dominated the late 18th century. This work illustrates that shift, combining the dramatic lighting of Baroque portraiture with the compositional clarity favored by neoclassical artists.