Dominicus Smout

It is assumed that he was born in Antwerp as the oldest child of the painter and art dealer Lucas Smout the Elder and Anna Maria Tijssens.

While he has been described by some as a history painter, the works currently ascribed to him are all genre paintings mainly dealing with two subjects: artist studios and the miser.

In Flanders, important practitioners of the genre were Gerard Thomas and Balthasar van den Bossche and some of Smout's works have occasionally been attributed to these better known artists.

As is common in the treatment of this subject matter, Smout uses it to include lavish still lifes of precious objects such as expensive metal plates, antiques, globes, coffers likely filled with coins or other treasury, etc., which are then combined with vanitas symbols such as still lives of game (referencing death) and even the physical entry of Death itself in the form of a skeleton.

A painting depicting A philosopher in his studio, which contains similar imagery as the miser pictures, was sold at Bonhams (18 January 2012, London, lot 238) as 'Circle of Balthasar van den Bossche' but has now been attributed to Dominicus Smout.