Adriaen van Stalbemt

[2] The Flemish biographer Cornelis de Bie stated in his book of artist biographies Het Gulden Cabinet, published in 1661, that Adriaen van Stalbemt was born on 12 June 1580.

[2] He returned to Antwerp after 1609, probably after the entry into effect of the Twelve Years' Truce, which heralded a cessation of hostilities between the Habsburg rulers of the Southern Netherlands and the Dutch Republic.

During his stay he painted two landscape views of Greenwich with King Charles I and Queen Henrietta Maria (still in the Royal Collection).

[6] A work showing Jan Brueghel the Elder's influence is the Landscape with Fables (Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp).

[4] Alongside Abraham Govaerts, van Stalbemt is considered one of the best followers and imitators of Jan Brueghel the Elder.

Various characteristics help distinguish his works from those of Breughel: to render foliage and the colour of the houses he used light yellow rather than pink as Jan Brueghel the Elder did.

A series of landscape prints by his hand represent respectively a coastal marine view with ships, a watermill, a windmill, ruins and a castle on a mountain.

The earliest works in this genre depicted art objects together with other items such as scientific instruments or peculiar natural specimens.

Frans Francken the Younger and Jan Brueghel the Elder started the genre by creating paintings of art and curiosity collections in the 1620s.

Most art historians now appear to agree that these works should be attributed to Hieronymus Francken II as van Stalbemt's figures differ from those in these gallery paintings.