Pieter Claesz, the most important still-life painter in Haarlem in the 1620s, was born in Berchem in 1596 or 1597.[1] He was apparently admitted to the Antwerp Guild of Saint Luke in 1620, but by 1621 he must have been living in Haarlem, where his son, landscape painter Berchem, Nicolaes Pietersz , was born. [2] Although it is unknown what date he joined the Haarlem Guild of Saint Luke, the 1634 guild register lists him as a master painter.[3] After his first wife died, he married Trijntien Lourensdr on August 8, 1635, with whom he had twin daughters.[4]
1647 list of painters skilled enough to contribute to the decorations at the Oranjezaal at the Huis ten
https://www.nga.gov/artists/1239-gerrit-dou
Gerrit Dou, considered the founder of the Dutch school of fijnschilderij , or fine painting, was born in Leiden on April 7, 1613, the son of Marytje Jansdr van Rosenburg and the glassmaker and engraver Douwe Jansz. According to Orlers, Dou received his first instruction, in the art of glass engraving, from his father.
Ten Paintings by Gerard Dou, 1613-1675. Exh. cat.
https://www.nga.gov/artworks/46177-baptism-christ
Saints played a very important role in the popular piety of the late Middle Ages. They were considered to be not only patrons and protectors against all manner of ills, but also mediators between the individual worshiper and God.
German Painting in the National Gallery of Art (Booklet no. 9 in Ten Schools of Painting in the National
https://www.nga.gov/artworks/1201-mill
After learning the fundamentals of drawing and painting in his native Leiden, Rembrandt van Rijn went to Amsterdam in 1624 to study for six months with Pieter Lastman (1583–1633), a famous history painter. Upon completion of his training Rembrandt returned to Leiden.
Ten Schools of Painting in the National Gallery of Art 7. Washington, 1960: 16, color repro.
