Monarch Philip IV of Spain Spouse Anna Maria de Camudio Died 1649, Brussels, Belgium | Name Ferdinand Boisschot Religion Roman Catholic | |
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Preceded by Petrus Peckius the Younger Alma mater University of Cologne, University of Leuven Resting place Church of Our Blessed Lady of the Sablon Education Old University of Leuven, University of Cologne | ||
Succeeded by Francois de Kinschot | ||
Ferdinand van Boisschot (1560s, Brussels – 24 November 1649, Brussels), Baron of Zaventem, was a Netherlandish jurist and diplomat who became chancellor of the Duchy of Brabant.
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Early life
Boisschot's father, Jan Baptist van Boisschot, was a member of the Council of Brabant and was killed in the early stages of the Dutch Revolt. His mother took refuge in Cologne, where Ferdinand was raised. He studied law at the University of Cologne and at the University of Leuven.
Career
In 1592 Boisschot was appointed auditor general of the Army of Flanders, a post he held until 1611. From the beginning of 1611 to the end of 1615 he was the diplomatic representative in London of the Sovereign Archdukes Albert and Isabella. In 1615 Philip III of Spain made him a knight in the order of Santiago. He spent a further four years as resident ambassador of the Archdukes in Paris, and was appointed to the Privy Council and the Council of State in Brussels.
In 1621 he was raised to the peerage, being awarded the lordship of Zaventem, and he went on to acquire Fontaine Castle and Groot-Bijgaarden Castle, and the lordships of Nossegem, Sterrebeek and Sint-Stevens-Woluwe. In 1644 he became count of Erps.
He was appointed Chancellor of Brabant, the highest civilian function in the duchy of Brabant, in October 1625, succeeding Petrus Peckius the Younger.
He died in Brussels on 24 November 1649 and was buried in the Church of Our Lady on the Zavel (Notre Dame on the Sablon).
Family
Boisschot was married to Anna Maria de Camudio, countess of Erps. They had one son François de Boisschot, Count of Erps who married Anne Marguerite, countess de Lannoy. He had two granddaughters, from whom the counts of Konigsegg-Rothenfels-Erps descend.
Van Dyck paintings
Anthony van Dyck painted a portrait of Boisschot’s wife, Anna Maria de Camudio, and is thought to have painted a now-lost portrait of Ferdinand de Boisschot himself. A copy of the Van Dyck portrait of Boisschot is on loan to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York from the Earl of Warwick.
Boisschot also commissioned from Van Dyck a painting of Saint Martin and the Beggar, a painting which he donated to the parish church of Zaventem after he was Created Baron of Saventem.