Herri met de Bles

[1][2][3] He contributed, along with Joachim Patinir and Lucas Gassel, to a distinct style of Northern Renaissance landscape painting basically originating from Gerard David's works and combining small history or religious scenes into compositions defined by perspective and atmospheric effects.

Herri met de Bles always included a few small figures involved in a religious episode or everyday activities such as mining, agriculture or trade.

Some speculate he was a nephew of the landscape painter Joachim Patinir,[4] but there is not any kind of historical evidence to support this claim and he may not have trained under him because of their age difference.

[8] Besides, they are depicted together (along with Hans Holbein) in a 1764 coloured engraving by Jan l'Admiral with Gassel being in the foreground and de Bles shown in the more obscure lower right corner.

[10] The renowned Dutch art institute and research center, RKD describes him as still active in Antwerp in 1566, based on recently discovered contemporary documents.

In Richard Powers's novel The Gold Bug Variations (1991), one of the main characters is working on a dissertation whose subject is Herri met de Bles.