HELMONT, Mattheus van

Flemish painter, a pupil of David Teniers the Younger. He was a member of Antwerp’s guild of painters by 1646. His abundant production, generally signed or monogrammed, but seldom dated, spreads out between 1638 and 1670. Influenced greatly by his master and Adriaen Brouwer, van Helmont specialized in the painting of genre subjects, particularly village scenes, kermesses and interiors, but also produced still-lifes and several versions of The Temptation of St Anthony. In addition, he painted Italian markets and fairs, which suggests he visited Italy at some point in his career.

Apparently of an unruly character and often involved in brawls, he left Antwerp in 1674, leaving many paintings with his creditors, and settled in Brussels where he died five years later.