He came from a well to do family and his parents operated a private school in Haarlem started by Magdalena's father, the well-known writer and publisher Peeter Heyns, after whom Pieter van Laer was named.

His early work shows the influence of this painter as is evidenced by a drawing signed Pieter Bodink (formerly in the collection of A. Welcker), which is close to van de Velde's style.

[4] Here he became a member of the Bentvueghels, an association of mostly Flemish and Dutch artists in Rome who were known for their initiation rituals, which involved a lot of drinking.

Pieter van Laer's nickname in Italy was Il Bamboccio, which means "ugly doll" or "puppet".

[5] This was an allusion to van Laer's ungainly appearance, as he is said to have had unusually long legs, short chest and almost no neck.

[8] Other Bamboccianti include Michiel Sweerts, Thomas Wijck, Dirck Helmbreker, Jan Asselyn, Anton Goubau, Willem Reuter, Jacob van Staverden and Johan Filip Lemke.

According to a statement in the testament of his sister made in 1654 there had not been any signs of life from Pieter van Laer in the previous 12 years.

[2] The Dutch biographer Arnold Houbraken reported that van Laer became depressed at the end of his life and committed suicide by drowning.

Despite their lowly subject matter, van Laer's works themselves sold for high prices and were held in some of the most prestigious collections of his time.

[14] The traditional art historical view was that the Bamboccianti style practised by Pieter van Laer offered a realist "true portrait of Rome and its popular life without variation or alteration" of what the artist sees.

They thus stand in a long tradition of paradox in which low or vulgar subjects were the vehicle for conveying important philosophical meanings.

[5] While his style of painting was openly disdained by pre-eminent Italian painters in Rome and Bologna, such as Sacchi, Albani, and Reni, this did not translate into a poverty of commissions.

[3] Among those owning his work were Pietro Testa, Cassiano dal Pozzo, the marchese Vincenzo Giustiniani, and later, the Flemish merchant in Naples Gaspar Roomer.