Jean-Baptiste van der Meiren (1664 - 1736) - The Arrival of the Oriental Merchants

John-Baptist van der Meiren
December 15, 1664 - 1736
"The Arrival of the Oriental Merchants"
Flemish School, late 17th century
Oil on canvas, 52 cm x 35.5 cm
Empire frame in stucco, gilded with gold.

Jan Baptiste van der Meiren (Antwerp December 15, 1664 - in or after 1708), Flemish painter, specializes in small, generally animated landscapes, port views and battle scenes with numerous characters. Apart from the time spent in Vienna in 1695, he worked his entire career in Antwerp. He married Catharina Tassaert in 1690. He took on Jasper Broers as a pupil in 1695. He was admitted as a master in the Antwerp Guild of Saint Luke in 1685
When in 1700 he was elected dean of the Antwerp Guild of Saint Luke, he paid the sum of 300 florins to be exempted from carrying out this duty.
Jan Baptiste van der Meiren had great success working in established Flemish genres and enjoyed international patronage from prominent collectors such as Elisabeth Farnese. His compositions fetched high prices at the time.
Jan Baptiste van der Meiren painted small landscapes with scenes of Italianized markets and ports in the same vein as Pieter Bout. He also painted cavalry encounters and biblical scenes in exotic landscapes. He sometimes painted the figures in the landscapes of Adriaen Frans Boudewyns.
Van der Meiren liked to paint in small format and use the technique of oil on copper. This medium enhanced the brilliance and liveliness of his colors, with strong shades of blue and green, typical of the Flemish style. His brushstroke is fast and dynamic. Van der Meiren's work influenced other Antwerp painters like Arnold Frans Rubens and Peter Tillemans.