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FRANS FRANCKEN III (Antwerp, Belgium, 1607 - 1667). "Jesus and the rich young man". Oil on copper. Frame of the 19th century. Measurements: 41 x 35 cm; 64 x 59 cm (frame). In this copper Frans Francken III gives us the episode of Jesus and the rich young man, related in the three synoptic Gospels. It shows the moment when the young man kneels before Jesus, asking him "Good Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life, since I have already done all that the Jewish law requires of me? Jesus replied, "Why do you call me good? No one is good, but only one, God. You know the commandments: Do not kill, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not bear false witness, do not defraud, honour your father and mother." The Messiah continued: To enter the kingdom of the Lord "go and sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come and follow me". The rich young man, however, did not divest himself of his wealth. Due to its morphological and stylistic characteristics, this work belongs to the production of Frans Francken III. The son of Frans Francken II, he was the last member of the important family of painters of this surname. After completing his training he joined the Guild of Saint Luke in Antwerp, his native city, in 1639 and became dean of that institution in 1656, a post he held for one year. Francken III developed an oeuvre that was heir to that of his father and in fact his paintings are often confused due to the fact that they both used the same signature. His oeuvre reveals the influence of Jan Brueghel de Velours and his predecessors in the Francken family, as well as debts to Mannerism and 16th-century painting, evident both in the structure of the compositions and in the rhythm and expression of the figures. Furthermore, as in his father's work, his figures include evident allusions to the work of Italian artists such as Raphael, Veronese and Zuccaro. However, his son's works are characterised by a less emphatic manner and a softer execution than those of Francken II. The reuse of specific motifs from the father's paintings is frequent in the son's work, and he also borrowed from a number of Dutch works. His principal works are based on the incorporation of figures in the paintings of Flemish church interiors by Ludovicus Neefs, of which the two paintings in the Museo del Prado, executed around 1646, are a brilliant example. Frans Francken III was the teacher of Carstian Luyckx and Jan Baptist Segaert. He is now represented in the Museo del Prado, the Royal Belgian Fine Arts Museum, the Museum voor Schone Kunsten in Doornik (Belgium), the Residenzgalerie in Salzburg and other important museums and collections.