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Balthasar van der Ast
1593 - 1657
Balthasar van der Ast was Dutch still-life painter of baroque era, trained in Middelburg. He worked in Utrecht before settling in Delft in 1632.
Van der Ast specialized in still lives of flowers and fruit, as well as painting a number of remarkable shell still lives. His touch was not much exquisite, but his range was wide. His paintings often included fruit and shells as well as flowers.
Balthasar van der Ast was born in Middelburg, The Netherlands. He was orphaned when his father Hans, a wealthy widower, died in 1609. After his father's death he lived with his older sister Maria and her husband, the still-life painter Ambrosius Bosschaert the Elder (1573-1621) whose impact is seen in his work.
Van der Ast, his brother-in-law and three nephews have become known as the Bosschaert dynasty, a group of painters famous for their still-lives. He seems to have accompanied Bosschaert when the couple moved from Middelburg to Bergen in 1615, and a few years later to Utrecht.
In 1619 Van der Ast joined the Saint Luke's Guild in Utrecht. While there he trained Bosschaert's three sons after their father had died in 1621. He also taught Jan Davidsz de Heem in Utrecht. In 1632 he moved to Delft and joined that city's Saint Luke's Guild. He worked together with Roelant Savery.
He and his wife, Margrieta Jans van Burn, whom he married in 1633, had two daughters, Maria and Helena. Van der Ast died in Delft in December 1657 and was buried in the Oude Kerk there.
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