Wiertz, Antoine Joseph

Wiertz, Antoine Joseph

(äNtwän` zhôzĕf` vērts), 1806–65, Belgian historical painter. He enjoyed such prestige that the government built him a studio in Brussels, now the Wiertz Museum. He delighted in painting complicated, philosophical subjects and scenes from ancient history. Wiertz invented a type of mat painting and wrote a memoir on Flemish painting.