Early Life and Training Justus Sustermans, Joost Suttermans or Suttermans (born Antwerp, Belgium 1597 – died 1681 Florence) was a Flemish Baroque painter and draughtsman whose career spanned over six decades and cemented his reputation as the foremost portrait painter in Italy during his time. Born into an artistic family—his father, Frans Sutermans, was also a painter—Justus’s upbringing instilled within him a profound appreciation for visual art from a young age. He began his artistic journey in Antwerp, where he was profoundly influenced by the monumental canvases of Peter Paul Rubens and…