Lucas von Breda

He was born to the wholesale merchant, Pieter von Breda of hamburg, whose family was originally from Brabant.

When Alida became a widow, in the 1690s, she arranged for Lucas to take art lessons from Martin Mijtens, with whom he was allowed to make his first foreign trip in 1697.

His paintings stood out from those of his contemporaries by, among other things, a red and violet representation of skin color.

He also created works with mythological motifs; notably a Venus and Adonis which was found in an art collection in Neschers.

He instead turned his attention to art collecting, laying the foundations for a gallery that his son would establish at the Nationalmuseum.