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**Jan or Johannes Popels (1590–1663)** was a Flemish painter and engraver active primarily in Antwerp during the Baroque period. Born in 1590, he joined the Antwerp Guild of Saint Luke in 1622 and remained a member until his death. He specialized in reproductive prints and copies after renowned masters, contributing to the documentation and dissemination of major artworks across Europe.
Popels worked extensively on reproductive engravings of religious and mythological subjects. He produced prints after artists such as Titian and Palma Vecchio for the influential *Theatrum Pictorium*, a catalog of the Italian paintings in the collection of Archduke Leopold Wilhelm of Austria. He collaborated closely with David Teniers the Younger on this project, creating copies and modelli that helped preserve visual records of the archduke’s gallery. His output also included works after Peter Paul Rubens, such as *The Triumph of Bacchus*, and after Giovanni Bellini, including *Saint George*. An example of his original engraving, *Group of Three Naked Children*, is held in Vienna’s Albertina museum.
Popels died in Tournai in 1663. Though biographical details about his early training remain limited, his career reflects the vibrant artistic milieu of 17th-century Antwerp, where engravers played a vital role in reproducing and circulating the compositions of leading painters. His contributions to the *Theatrum Pictorium* and similar projects helped shape how later generations encountered and studied Italian and Flemish masterpieces.
Today, Popels is recognized for his technical skill in engraving and his service to important collectors and scholars. His prints, often held in major institutions like the Metropolitan Museum of Art, continue to offer valuable insights into the transmission of artistic ideas during the Baroque era.