Jan van Kessel the Younger

Jan van Kessel the Younger was born in 1654, one of thirteen children of Jan van Kessel the Elder (1626–1679), a member of the eminent Antwerp Guild of St Luke. Through his grandmother, Paschasia, the daughter of Jan Brueghel the Elder, he was related to the Brueghel family. He was not, however, the only one to inherit the family talent. His elder brother, Ferdinand, was also a young hopeful and, like Jan, became an apprentice in his father’s studio, where he painted pictures such as A Monkey Smoking and Drinking with an Owl (pictured). Ferdinand eventually became a successful flower painter, like his father, but Jan proved far more talented. Ferdinand died in 1696, a decade before Jan, who thus remained the last living representative of the great painting dynasty.

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