26. Marten Jozef Geeraerts (Antwerp 1707-1791) Allegory of Time signed and dated 'geeraerts.f.1769' (lower left) oil on canvas, grisaille signed and dated 'geeraerts.f.1769' (lower left) oil on canvas, en grisaille 138.4 x 105.5cm (54 1/2 x 41 9/16in). Provenance: With Rafael Valls, London, where purchased by the present owner Marten Jozef Geeraerts, a pupil of Abraham Godyn (1655-1740), spent most of his life in Antwerp: he was elected into the Guild of Saint Luke at a young age in 1731. A decade later, in 1741, he was appointed Director and Professor at the Academy, further solidifying his influence within the artistic community. He excelled in trompe-l'œil compositions, often in grisaille, a style closely associated with the slightly older Jacob de Wit (1695-1754). Geeraerts' ability to create optical illusions with such precision and finesse earned him numerous significant commissions throughout his career and he was often chosen over his distinguished contemporaries such as Dirck van der Aa (1731-1809) and Aert Schouman (1710-1792).