Jan Frans Boeckstuyns was born around 1650 in Mechelen. He has to be distinguished from the sculptor Gillis Frans Boeckstuyns who was baptised in the St. Rumbold's Cathedral in Mechelen on 3 July 1651 and likely was a relative.Neeffs, Emmanuel, Sculpteurs Malinois du XVIIIe siècle — Jean-François Boeckstuyns, in: Messager des sciences historiques, ou, Archives des arts et de la bibliographie de Belgique Vanderhaeghen, 1875, pp. 359-366 He studied with the prominent Mechelen sculptor Lucas Faydherbe. Faydherbe was a sculptor from Mechelen who had studied in the workshop of Rubens in Antwerp where he became part of the artists developing the Flemish Baroque style in painting and sculpture. Boeckstuyns became a master in the local Guild of Saint Luke in 1680. He likely continued to work for the workshop of Faydherbe after becoming a master.
