Floris Claesz. van Dijck

Floris Claesz. van Dijck was born in Delft around 1575 but lived most of his life in Haarlem.It is not exactly known who he received his education from. This probably happened in Delft or Haarlem. After his education in the Netherlands, Van Dyck made a study trip to Italy. Floris Claesz. van Dijck spent 6 years in Rome.

In 1606 he returned to the Netherlands, where he settled in Haarlem, probably staying with his uncle, the brewer Cornelis van Rijck.

After his engagement in 1604 he was admitted to the Guild of St. Luke in Haarlem, where he held a high position. In 1637 he became chairman of the guild.

On September 11, 1625, he married for the second time with Cornelia Jansdr. Floris' painting style was influenced by Osias Beert and Clara Peeters and together with Nicolaes Gillis he is considered the inventor of the bench, this is a banquet still life genre with a table laid for breakfast.

In addition to Nicolaes Gilles, he influenced the painters Floris van Schooten, Pieter Claesz and Roelof Koets.

However, he did not paint much during the last 25 years of his life. One reason for this could be that he no longer had to earn a living from painting. The will he made in 1605 shows that he was very wealthy at the time.

Van Dyck mainly painted still lifes. He is best known for his faithful reproduction of plants and flowers, but he also painted what was called breakfast in the 17th century: a set table with cheeses, fruit and nuts.

Floris Claesz. van Dijck died in November 1651 in Haarlem, the city where he had spent most of his life.