Jan Philip van Thielen

Subjects and genres recorded for the work are still life and floral. Places of work recorded in the authority are Antwerp and Mechelen. Works named in the authority record are Festoon of flowers encircling a bust of Flora. Work by Jan Philip van Thielen is recorded in the collections of Museo del Prado, Palais des Beaux-Arts de Lille, Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp, Museum Plantin-Moretus and Hermitage Museum.

Van Thielen was born in Mechelen as the son of a minor nobleman by the name of Liebrecht van Thielen. Jan Philip would eventually assume his father's title of Lord of Couwenberch. His mother was Anna Rigouts or Rigouldts. He signed some of his paintings with the names of Couwenberg and Rigouldts in his signature, to point to his noble status. • Illustration — Roses and a tulip in a glass vase He left his native Mechelen for Antwerp where in 1631 or 1632 he started his training as a painter with his brother-in-law Theodoor Rombouts who had married his sister Anna in 1627. Rombouts was a leading history and genre painter who had studied in Italy where he had become a follower of Caravaggio. Theodoor Rombouts was a prominent history painter who had married Jan Philip's sister Anna in 1627. In 1639 van Thielen married Francisca de Hemelaer with whom he had 9 children. Through his marriage he was the brother-in-law of Erasmus Quellinus II. Erasmus Quelllinus was married to the sister of his wife and would become one of the leading history painters in Flanders after the deaths of Rubens and van Dyck. Quellinus drew van Thielens' portrait that was engraved by Richard Collin for Cornelis de Bie's book of artist biographies Het Gulden Cabinet. Because he liked flower painting he changed masters in 1641 and began training with Daniel Seghers, the leading flower painter in Flanders. He became a master in the Antwerp Guild of Saint Luke in 1641. In 1660 he moved with his family to his hometown Mechelen where he became a master in the local Guild of Saint Luke the next year. • Illustration — Garland of flowers and ivy on a blue ribbon Three of van Thielen's daughters became flower painters: Maria Theresa van Thielen (1640–1706), Anna-Maria (b 1641) and Francisca-Catherina (b 1645). Only works of the eldest sister have come down to us as the two younger sisters entered convents. The sisters must have been exceptional flower painters as they were praised by their contemporary, the artist biographer Cornelis de Bie in his Het Gulden Cabinet published in 1662. Van Thielen was the teacher of his daughters and also taught a certain N. Bainville in Mechelen. He died in 1667 in Booischot.

Van Thielen painted flower pieces as well as garland paintings with dates ranging from 1646 to 1667. As his paintings are generally signed it has been possible to establish the chronology and development of his oeuvre. He signed with I. P. Van Thielen Rigouldts (after his mother) in the 1640s, I. P. Van Thielen after 1650, and I. P. Van Thielen Heere Van CouwenBerche on later works in the 1660s, after he had assumed the title of Lord of Couwenberch. • Illustration — Vase of flowers

The style of his flower pieces is less spontaneous than that of his master Seghers. Each flower stands out individually rather than blending into the composition as a whole. In his flower paintings he demonstrated his skills as a colourist, which contributed to his commercial success. An example is the Roses and a tulip in a glass vase in the National Gallery of Art in Washington.

The authorities additionally record the headings Jean Philips van Thielen, Jan Philips Van Rigoults, Jan Philips Van Thielen-Rigoults, j. p. van thielen and Jean Philips Van Rigoults. He was the child of Liebrecht van Thielen. 3 children are recorded: Maria Theresia van Thielen, Anna Maria van Thielen and Francisca Catharina van Thielen. Other recorded relations include Erasmus Quellinus II.

The Ashmolean Museum (University of Oxford), the Fitzwilliam Museum (University of Cambridge), the Honolulu Museum of Art, the National Gallery of Art (Washington D.C.) and the Pinacoteca di Brera (Milan) are among the public collections holding paintings by Jan Philip van Thielen.