Lot 1026 D α

Very little is known about the biography of the Dutch painter Christoffel van den Berghe. He is first documented as a board member of the painter's guild in Middelburg, and lastly as owner of a house in that city in 1628. He signed very few of his works, but those he did he either signed in full or with his monogram “CVB”. A small flower still life in the Philadelphia Museum dated 1617 is the eldest work by this painter known thus far. Alongside still lifes, he also painted a number of small-scale summer and winter landscapes. Both genres display the influence of Jan Brueghel, possibly due to Middelburg's proximity to Flanders.