Portrait of Albert VII, Archduke of Austria

Portrait of Albert VII, Archduke of Austria, painted in 1635 and held at the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium in Brussels, belongs to a series of Habsburg dynastic portraits that de Vos executed as part of the Pompa Introitus Ferdinandi — the elaborate ceremonial entry of Cardinal-Infante Ferdinand into Antwerp in 1635. Albert VII (1559–1621) had ruled the Spanish Netherlands alongside his wife Archduchess Isabella Clara Eugenia, and the posthumous portrait was likely based on earlier likenesses rather than life sittings. Such dynastic portraits were standard decorative elements in Habsburg ceremonial culture, asserting the continuity of Habsburg rule and the legitimacy of Ferdinand's governorship through visual connection to celebrated predecessors. De Vos was among the Antwerp masters recruited to produce the extraordinary cycle of paintings and decorations for the Pompa Introitus — a commission that involved the design of triumphal arches, stage sets, and gallery paintings in a city-wide spectacle organized with Rubens's overall supervision. The Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium holds the largest collection of de Vos's work, making it the primary repository for understanding his career.

As a posthumous commemorative portrait, the painting draws on existing iconographic models rather than life observation. The formal armorial pose and regal accessories — armor, chain of the Order of the Golden Fleece — follow established conventions for Habsburg portraiture. De Vos's handling is fluid and assured, with particular care given to the metallic gleam of armor.