a Flemish painter who, after a stay in Italy, worked for a time as a court painter in Prague where he produced magnificent Baroque frescos. He later returned to Antwerp. Details about his life are scarce. Abraham Godijn was probably born in 1655 or 1656 in Antwerp where he studied under the prominent history painter Hendrik Herregouts. He became in 1681 a member of the 'Sodaliteit van de Bejaerde Jongmans', a fraternity for bachelors established by the Jesuit order. Not long thereafter he travelled to Italy. His work was well received in Rome where he became a court painter of the Pope and received the title of 'Painter of the Office of his Imperial and Catholic Majesty'.
