Brief Biography-Juan van der Hamen y Leon, born in Madrid, was a painter of ‘Bodegón,’ meaning still-life paintings containing kitchen or pantry items in Spanish art. However, he worked in a Flemish style influenced by his Flemish father, an archer of the guard, who was also a still-life painter; his mother was Spanish. Juan van der Hamen became a renowned still-life and flower painter in Madrid and painted religious works for churches. He became a court painter under Philip IV and succeeded as a portraitist, painting much of the nobility. He died in Madrid in 1631. Most of the major museums in Madrid house examples of his work.