Daniel Soreau

Soreau was born in Tournai in 1554. He became a citizen of Frankfurt in 1586. He married Johanna Flamen. He inherited a wool trading company from his father Johann Soreau. He ran this company together with his brother Simon Soreau and his brother-in-law Stefan van Ninhoven, but could not prevent its bankruptcy in 1601. At times, the company had controlled the entire wool trade of Hesse and Wetterau.^[1]

The painter and biographer Joachim von Sandrart wrote in his Teutsche Academie that Soreau became a painter at a more advanced age than usual.^[2] His pupils were his twin sons Isaak and Pieter, Francesco Codino, Sebastian Stoskopff and Joachim von Sandrart. Soreau died only a year after Sandrart became his pupil in 1618.^[3]

After Soreau died at Frankfurt, his workshop was taken over by Stoskopff, who had been his pupil from 1615.^[3]

Sandrart stated that Soreau was good at painting "stillstehenden Sachen" (stationary subjects, probably meaning still lifes).^[2] No paintings by Soreau are known to date. However, there are engravings after Soreau by Johann Jenet, which are of subjects other than still lifes. A still life with a fruit basket has been attributed to him a few times, but without sufficient documentation. It is now believed to be by Jacob van Hulsdonck, who influenced Isaak Soreau.