Bree. I. Mathien Ignace Van, a Belgian painter, born in Antwerp, Feb. 22,1773, died there, Dec. 15, 1839. He was a pupil of Schaeken in Antwerp, and of Vincent in Paris, and became early distinguished by his rapid execution of large historical pictures. His most celebrated painting, representing the famine of Leyden in 1576, is in the town hall of that city. His "Johanna Sebus" was presented in 1858 to the Prussian town of Cleves, and his "Rubens " is in the possession of the grand duke of Saxe-Weimar. His portraits are also admired. He excelled as a lithographer and sculptor, and was director of the academy of fine arts at Antwerp. II Philippe Jacques van, brother and pupil of the preceding, born in Antwerp in 1786, died there in 1840. He completed his studies in Paris and Rome, and produced many historical and other paintings, including "Oriental Travellers," "A Spanish Nun," "Atala," "Queen Blanche with her Child, the future St. Louis," "Maria de' Medici and Louis XIII. in the presence of Rubens," "Mary Stuart on the Eve of Execution," "Petrarch surprised by Laura," and "The Abdication of Charles V." His "Interior of St. Peter's" was purchased by the Belgian government.