Gillis van Tilborgh the Younger, who was probably born in Brussels around 1625, apparently studied with both his father, Gillis van Tilborgh the Elder (1578-1632), and David Teniers the Younger (1610-1690).
Van Tilborgh was recorded as a citizen of Brussels in 1654, the year in which he became a master in the Brussels Saint Luke's Guild. He had an active workshop with a number of students, although none of them have been identified. His early low-life genre scenes from the 1650s reflect the manner of David Teniers, Joos van Craesbeek (c. 1605-1661), and David Rijckaert III (1612-1661), while his later group portraits of upper-class patrons are reminiscent of those by Gonzales Coques (1614/1618-1684). He also painted a few religious scenes. After 1666, when he became curator of paintings at the castle of Tervueren near Brussels, he painted scenes of collectors' cabinets.
About 1670 Van Tilborgh traveled to England, where he portrayed Sir Henry Tichborne and his family in 1671. There are no known dated works after 1671. [This is the artist's biography published in the NGA Systematic Catalogue]
Artist Bibliography
1957
Speth-Holterhoff, S. Les peintres flamands de cabinets d'amateurs au XVIIe siècle. Brussels, 1957: 161-164.
1994
Maere, J. de, and M. Wabbes. Illustrated Dictionary of 17th Century Flemish Painters. Ed. Jennifer A. Martin. Brussels, 1994: 396.
2005
Wheelock, Arthur K., Jr. Flemish Paintings of the Seventeenth Century. The Collections of the National Gallery of Art Systematic Catalogue. Washington, D.C., 2005: 252.