Pieter Bout

Before 1658 – Brussels – 1702

A painter of genre scenes and landscapes, Pieter Bout was – according to some biographies – Wouwerman’s pupil. Accepted as a master in Brussels in 1671, he then settled in Paris where he lived until 1677. This stay is confirmed by several views of the city, the most famous of which are “The View of the Arsenal” and “L’Ile Saint Louis”, currently kept at the Musée Carnavalet. Apparently, he travelled to Italy shortly afterwards, returning to Brussels in the course of 1695, the year he married.
His favourite themes were market scenes, kermesses, and views of ports and village squares, animated with crowds of small figures. In this sense, he drew inspiration from the art of Jan ‘Velvet’ Brueghel and David Teniers. His picturesque vigour and his skill at recreating unusually colourful scenes of popular merrymaking are fully expressed through his paintings.
This painter, who was particularly appreciated by his contemporaries, was asked to collaborate with landscape painters, the most famous of which were Adriaen Frans Baudewyns, Lucas Achtschellink and Jacques d’Arthois, in order to people their paintings with his skilfully arranged characters.