 |
| Jan van Kessel the Elder Festons, Masques et Rosettes de Coquillages before 1679 oil on copper Fondation Custodia, Paris |
 |
| Jan van Kessel the Elder Concert of Birds ca. 1660-70 oil on copper National Gallery of Art, Washington DC |
 |
| Jan van Kessel the Elder Owl besieged by Songbirds before 1679 oil on copper private collection |
 |
| Jan van Kessel the Elder Ecce Panis Angelorum 1668 oil on copper Speed Art Museum, Louisville, Kentucky |
 |
| Jan van Kessel the Elder Praying Madonna in Garland 1648 oil on panel Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga, Lisbon |
 |
| Jan van Kessel the Elder River Landscape before 1679 oil on copper private collection |
 |
| Jan van Kessel the Elder Harbor Scene with Fish 1660 oil on copper private collection |
 |
| Jan van Kessel the Elder Vanitas Still Life ca. 1665-70 oil on copper National Gallery of Art, Washington DC |
 |
| Jan van Kessel the Elder Still Life before 1679 oil on panel Musée de Sens, France |
 |
| Jan van Kessel the Elder (ornamental surround) and David Teniers the Younger Submission of the Sicilian Rebels to Antonio de Moncada in 1411 1663 oil on copper Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid |
 |
| Jan van Kessel the Elder (ornamental surround) and David Teniers the Younger The Soap Bubble ca. 1660-70 oil on canvas Musée du Louvre |
 |
| Jan van Kessel the Elder Insects around a Sprig of Forget-Me-Not 1653 oil on copper private collection |
 |
| Jan van Kessel the Elder Insects around Sprigs of White Currant and Red Currant 1653 oil on copper private collection |
 |
| Jan van Kessel the Elder Insects around a Sprig of Red Currant 1657 oil on copper private collection |
 |
| Jan van Kessel the Elder Spiders with Snakes and Caterpillars contorted to spell the Artist's Name 1657 oil on copper private collection |
"Jan van Kessel, born in 1626 in Antwerp, was the sone of Hieronymus van Kessel the Younger, a successful portrait and figure painter, and Paschasia Brueghel, daughter of Jan Brueghel the Elder. In 1634/1635 he registered in the Antwerp Saint Luke's Guild as a pupil of the history painter Simon de Vos, becoming a master in his own right in 1644. He was apparently also instructed by his uncle Jan Brueghel the Younger, who, in 1646, had Van Kessel make copies of his paintings. On 11 June 1647 Van Kessel married Maria van Apshoven, at which time Van Kessel's uncle, David Teniers the Younger, served as a witness. . . . The couple had thirteen children, two of whom became painters: Ferdinand (1648-1696), who continued to paint in his father's style, and Jan the Younger (1654-1708), who became a portrait painter for King Charles II in Spain. Although Van Kessel had a productive career and, as a captain in the Civic Guard, was a citizen of some importance in Antwerp, he had numerous debts when he died in 1679."
"Throughout his career Van Kessel painted within the artistic tradition of his grandfather Jan Brueghel the Elder, although he was also inspired by the scientific naturalism of Joris Hoefnagel. His small-scale, brightly colored, and minutely detailed paintings on panel or copper were highly regarded by connoisseurs and princely collectors. Van Kessel is most renowned for his depictions of flowers, insects, and animals, both living and dead, but he also painted shells, armor, and still lifes of fruit, bouquets, and garlands. He frequently collaborated with figure painters, among them Erasmus Quellinus and David Teniers the Younger."
– from the biography published in the Systematic Catalogue of the National Gallery of Art, Washington DC