Quentin Matsys

Meet Quentin Matsys, the original hipster of Antwerp's art scene. This 15th-century Flemish painter is considered the founder of the Antwerp school of painting. Before he was famous for his religious and satirical works, he was just a humble ironsmith. So how did he trade his hammer for a paintbrush? The most romantic, and therefore least likely, story is that he fell for an artist's daughter and switched careers to woo her. A less swoon-worthy, but more plausible, rumor is that an illness left him too weak for smithing, so he took up painting instead. Whatever the reason, he went on to create masterpieces, including the delightfully grotesque "The Ugly Duchess," which may have been a collaboration with his friend Leonardo da Vinci and later inspired the Duchess in *Alice's Adventures in Wonderland*. So, next time you're trying to impress someone, just remember Quentin Matsys and his legendary career change.