Background
He was born in Middelburg and died at Delft. Balthasar van der Ast was born in Middelburg in the Southern Dutch province of Zeeland, in the family of a prosperous wool merchant.
He was born in Middelburg and died at Delft. Balthasar van der Ast was born in Middelburg in the Southern Dutch province of Zeeland, in the family of a prosperous wool merchant.
His still lifes often contain insects and lizards. His lifetime of works was once summarized by an Amsterdam doctor who said, "In flowers, shells and lizards, beautiful". Van der Ast was trained by Bosschaert as a still life painter, and his early works clearly show Bosschaert’s influence.
Together, this group of painters is sometimes referred to as the “Bosschaert dynasty”.
Van der Ast accompanied the Bosschaert family in their move in 1615 to Bergen op Zoom and in 1619 to Utrecht, where van der Ast entered the Utrecht Guild of Saint Luke. Roelandt Savery (1576–1639) entered the Saint Luke’s guild in Utrecht at about the same time.
Savery, had considerable influence on van der Ast and his pupils in the years to come, especially in van der Ast’s interest in tonality. Besides the Bosschaerts, his pupils were Anthony Claesz and Johannes Baers.
lieutenant is also likely that January Davidsz de Heem (1606-1683/84) was van der Ast’s pupil in Utrecht.
He also influenced Willem and Evert van Aelst, and Bartholomeus Assteyn. Van der Ast remained in Utrecht until 1632, when he moved to Delft and joined the guild of Street Luke on 22 June 1633. They had two children, Maria and Helena.
In Delft, van der Ast and family lived in the house on Cellebroerstraat until 1640, and in the house in Oude Delft until his death in 1657, when he was buried in the Oude Kerk.
Van der Ast has paintings in public collections including nine in the United Kingdom.