Editing Quentin Matsys (section)

==Early life==
Most early accounts of Matsys' life are composed primarily of legend and very little contemporary accounts exist of the nature of his activities or character. According to J. Molanus' ''Historiae Lovaniensium'', Matsys was known to be a native of Leuven with humble beginnings as an ironsmith. One of four children, Massys was born to Joost Matsys (d. 1483) and Catherine van Kincken sometime between 4 April and 10 September 1466. Legend states that Matsys abandoned his career as a blacksmith to woo his wife, who found painting to be a more romantic profession, though [[Karel van Mander]] claimed this to be false, and the real reason was a sickness during which he was too weak to work at the smithy and instead decorated prints for the carnival celebrations.<ref>[http://www.dbnl.org/tekst/mand001schi01_01/mand001schi01_01_0196.php Quintijn Messijs] in Karel van Mander's [[Schilderboeck]].</ref>
[[File:Quinten Metsys - Head of an Old Man - Google Art Project.jpg|thumb|left|''Head of an Old Man'']]

Documented donations and possessions of Joost Matsys indicate that the family had a respectable income and that financial need was most likely not the reason Matsys turned to painting. During the period in which Matsys was active in Antwerp he took only four apprentices: a certain Ariaen whom certain art historians believe to be [[Adriaen van Overbeke]] (master in 1508),<ref name=prim/> Willem Muelenbroec (registered in 1501), Eduart Portugalois (registered in 1504, master in 1506), and Hennen Boeckmakere (registered in 1510). It is widely believed that [[Joachim Patinir]] studied with Matsys at some point during his career and contributed to several of his landscapes (such as ''The Temptation of St. Anthony'' at the Prado Museum in Madrid).<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Temptations of Saint Anthony - The Collection - Museo Nacional del Prado|url=https://www.museodelprado.es/en/the-collection/art-work/the-temptations-of-saint-anthony/b93e9da4-8a77-44ae-ba29-1811cc546fd8|access-date=25 December 2020|website=www.museodelprado.es}}</ref> Lack of guild records during this time leaves Matsys' travels to Italy and other parts of the Low Countries as part of his training open to question. For the most part, foreign influences on Matsys are inferred from his paintings and are considered to be a large portion of the artist's training during the 16th century.