SwissArtGallery · Documented identity
The Flemish painter Jacob van Hulsdonck was born in Antwerp in 1582 and died there in 1647. He trained in still-life painting in Middelburg, where he joined Ambrosius Bosschaert, who had settled in the city for religious reasons. On his return to Antwerp, he joined the painters’ guild in 1608, then ran a workshop from 1613 to 1623 devoted in particular to flower and fruit still lifes. His repertoire also includes meal scenes, in which objects and food form abundant arrangements.
Breakfast with Fish, Ham and Cherries, dated 1614, is an example of this approach: the oil on panel measures 65 × 107 cm and is held at the Bowes Museum. In Still Life with a Sumptuous Meal, the table is seen from above and covered with food — cheese, fish, lamb, ham, lemons and grapes — as well as silverware, porcelain and glasses; one of the glasses is overturned and broken. In the foreground, a large tortoise is associated in the catalogue entry with the fragility of human existence. Other works document his interest in fruit and precious objects: Wild Strawberries and a Carnation in a Wan-Li Bowl, dated around 1620, is an oil on copper held at the National Gallery of Art in Washington. A still life of lemons, oranges and pomegranate, dated from 1620 to 1640, is in the J. Paul Getty Museum; a Basket of Plums and Cherries is held at the Musée des Beaux-Arts d’Orléans.
Works by van Hulsdonck are also recorded in collections in Enschede, Berlin, Brunswick and The Hague, as well as in museums in Bonn, Florence, New York, Avignon and Melun. The catalogue entry reports that his compositional approach was taken up by Flemish painters who emigrated to Germany, notably Jean Soreau, and that he influenced Frans Snyders.
This profile brings together identity references for Jacob van Hulsdonck and paintings, drawings and works on paper documented in auction catalogues.
2 references are documented at Dobiaschofsky. Each record links to its source; the amounts are not a general valuation of the artist’s work.
Oil on oak panel
Stillleben mit Steinobst in Wanli Kraak Schale.
Öl auf Eichenholz
Date to be documented
Catalogue reference — sale not confirmed
View the lot at the auction house ↗
Oil on oak panel
Stillleben mit Walderdbeeren in Wanli Kraak Schale.
Öl auf Eichenholz
Date to be documented
Catalogue reference — sale not confirmed
View the lot at the auction house ↗SwissArtGallery documentary note based on the cited sources. Titles, media and qualifications are provided in the profile language; the original catalogue wording remains available in each record.
Documentation updated : 2026-10-19
