(b Ghent, 1623; d Antwerp, 1687). Flemish draughtsman, painter and etcher. He was in Antwerp by 1643, the year of his marriage, and became a master in the city’s Guild of St Luke in 1647. Neyts is known principally for his landscape drawings, of which a substantial number survive (e.g. 145 sheets in London, BM). Most are small, sometimes on vellum, and executed in brown or black ink with a fine nib; they are usually signed. Their penwork is delicate and idiosyncratic, with numerous dots and short strokes of the pen, sometimes accompanied by long sinuous meandering lines. In some cases Neyts added grey wash or watercolour. His subject-matter is conventional, largely consisting of idealized Flemish landscapes and topographical views of Flemish towns and villages, the latter recording his numerous journeys throughout the southern Netherlands. As with Jan Breughel the elder, some of the imaginary scenes incorporate distant views of Antwerp’s church spires. Neyts seems to have been influenced by Wenceslaus Hollar and the calligraphic style of Jacques Callot. In both cases Neyts is likely to have seen prints of these artists’ work, rather than their drawings. Neyts was probably also influenced by his contemporary Lucas van Uden, whose penwork is similar, and whose highly distinctive use of watercolour was adopted by Neyts in a few drawings.