Gillis Coignet or Congnet was born at Antwerp in 1540. He was some time under a painter called Antonio Palermo, then resident at Antwerp, and afterwards went to Italy. After visiting Terni

Terni

Terni is a city in southern Umbria, central Italy, capital of the province of Terni, located in the plain of the Nera river. It is 104 km N of Rome, 36 km NW of Rieti, and 29 km S of Spoleto.-History:...

, Naples, and several towns in Sicily, he returned to the Low Countries, where he was much encouraged. He was admitted into the Guild of St. Luke

Guild of Saint Luke

The Guild of Saint Luke was the most common name for a city guild for painters and other artists in early modern Europe, especially in the Low Countries. They were named in honor of the Evangelist Luke, the patron saint of artists, who was identified by John of Damascus as having painted the...

 at Antwerp in 1561, and was dean in 1584-85. The troubles that existed at that time under the Prince of Parma

Alexander Farnese, Duke of Parma

Alexander Farnese was Duke of Parma and Piacenza from 1586 to 1592, and Governor of the Spanish Netherlands from 1578 to 1592.-Biography:...

, obliged Coignet to leave his native country about 1586, and take refuge in Amsterdam, where he remained several years. He painted historical and mythological
subjects of an easel size, but was more successful in landscapes, in candlelight subjects, and moonlight. He finally settled at Hamburg, where he died in 1599. The Museum of Antwerp contains a 'St. George' and a portrait by him, and that of Cassel

Fridericianum

The Fridericianum is a museum in Kassel, Germany. Built in 1779, it is one of the oldest public museums in Europe. The quintennial art festival documenta is centred on the site....

a 'Venus and Cupid' of the year 1579.