Background
Pieter Meulener was born in Antwerp where he was baptised on 18 February. lieutenant is assumed that he was trained by his father January de Meuleneer who was the son of the Flemish Renaissance painter Cornelis Molenaer. SInce no early dated works have been discovered, it is likely he started out assisting his father in his workshop.
Career
He also painted landscapes with genre scenes. January had joined the Antwerp Guild of Saint Luke in 1598 and died in 1645. Pieter joined the Guild in 1631 as a "wijnmeester" (literally: winemaster), which means he was the son or brother of a current member.
He likely got married the same year.
He started out on his own account from 1642 until his death in Antwerp in 1654. His palette is closer to that of Pieter Snayers, who studied under Vrancx.
After 1645 his colour became clearer under the influence of Dutch battle scene painters, such as Pieter de Neyn, January Jacobsz. van der Stoffe and Abraham van der Hoef and in particular Palamedes Palamedesz, to the extent that their battle scenes can be confused. Landscapes
His landscapes typically include genre scenes.
An interesting example is the Landscape with a Dancing Couple dated 1645.
lieutenant is painted on the decorated lid of an Antwerp harpsichord. The landscape shows a landscape outside a village where a group of people are enjoying outdoor activities. On the left a couple is dancing to the music of a lute player and a violinist.
On the right stands a man with a bag over his shoulder.
If the work View of Hemiksem Castle sold at Sotheby"s in its London sale of 9 June 1982 as Lot 110 is indeed by Peter Meulener, then it appears that he also painted topographical landscapes. Collaborations
As was the custom in Antwerp in the 17th century, Meulener collaborated with other artists on compositions.
An illustration of such collaboration is An extensive landscape with a cavalry skirmish on a ridge (Sold at Christie"s on 6 July 2007 in London, Lot 147) in which he painted the staffage and David Teniers the Younger the landscape.
Membership
Antwerp Guild of Saint Luke.