1656 in art

Events from the year 1656 in art.

Events

 * March–December – Naples Plague kills many artists there.
 * Rembrandt, facing bankruptcy, is forced to arrange sale of most of his paintings and collection of antiquities.

Works

 * Bernardino Mei – The Charlatan
 * Rembrandt – Jacob Blessing the Sons of Joseph
 * Diego Velázquez – Las Meninas (Museo del Prado, Madrid)
 * Jan Vermeer – The Procuress (approximate date; Gemäldegalerie, Dresden)

Births

 * April 9 – Francesco Trevisani, Italian painter of frescoes (died 1746)
 * April 25 – Giovanni Antonio Burrini, Bolognese painter in late-Baroque or Rococo style (died 1727)
 * July 15 – Massimiliano Soldani Benzi, Italian sculptor and medallist (died 1740)
 * August 18 – Ferdinando Galli Bibiena, Italian architect, designer, painter and author (died 1743)
 * October 10 – Nicolas de Largillière, French painter (died 1746)
 * November – Jacob de Heusch, Dutch painter (died 1701)
 * December 11 – Johann Michael Rottmayr, Austrian painter (died 1730)
 * date unknown
 * Pierre Aveline, French engraver, print-publisher and print-seller (died 1722)
 * François Barois, French sculptor (died 1726)
 * Simone Brentana, Italian painter of the Baroque period, active in Verona (died 1742)
 * Heinrich Charasky, Hungarian sculptor (died 1710)
 * José de Cieza, Spanish painter (died 1692)
 * Louis de Deyster, Flemish painter of churches and maker of musical instruments (died 1711)
 * Sebastiano Galeotti, peripatetic Italian painter of the late-Baroque period (died 1746)
 * Maria Oriana Galli-Bibiena, Italian painter (died 1749)
 * Willem Wissing, Dutch portrait artist (died 1687)

Deaths

 * April 27
 * Gerard van Honthorst, Dutch painter of Utrecht (born 1592)
 * Jan van Goyen, Dutch landscape painter (born 1596)
 * May 17 - Dirck Hals, Dutch painter of festivals and ballroom scenes (born 1591)
 * July 12 - Giovanni Giacomo Barbelli, Italian painter, active in Brescia (born 1604)
 * August - Salomon Koninck, Dutch painter of genre scenes, portraits and an engraver (born 1609)
 * November 12 - Hendrick van Anthonissen, Dutch marine painter (born 1605)
 * December 20 - David Beck, Dutch portrait painter (born 1621)
 * December 28 - Laurent de La Hyre, French painter (born 1606)
 * date unknown
 * Guido Ubaldo Abbatini, Italian painter (born 1600)
 * Jacopo Barbello, Italian painter (born 1590)
 * Didier Barra, French Renaissance painter (born 1590)
 * Gregorio Bausá, Spanish painter (born 1590)
 * Remigio Cantagallina, Italian etcher (born 1582)
 * Francisco Collantes, Spanish painter (born 1599)
 * Maria de Abarca, Spanish painter of large and miniature portraits (born unknown)
 * Francesco Francanzano, Italian painter (born 1612; executed for inciting rebellion)
 * Francisco Herrera the Elder, Spanish painter and founder of the Seville school for the arts (born 1576)
 * Jean Monier, French painter (born 1600)
 * victims of Naples Plague
 * Bernardo Cavallino, Italian painter working in Naples (born 1616)
 * Massimo Stanzione, Italian Caravaggisti painter of frescoes (born 1586)
 * probable
 * Luigi Miradori, Italian painter, active mainly in Cremona (born 1600/1610)
 * Harmen Steenwijck, Dutch painter of still lifes, notably of fruit (born 1612)
 * possible - Artemisia Gentileschi, Italian painter (born 1593)