(1657 - 1720)
Pieter van Bloemen, painter and engraver, was born in Antwerp. As a young man he followed his brother, landscape painter Jan Frans van Bloemen, to Italy, where he stayed for a number of years, making studies of classical architecture and sculpture. While Jan Frans remained in Italy for the rest of his life, Pieter returned to Antwerp with the studies he had made. The paintings he made after his return, generally represented battle scenes or other scenes incorporating figures and animals, particularly horses. Some included the ruins of architecture or antique sculpture taken from the studies made in Rome. Bloemen also made etchings after his own works. In 1699, he became Director of the Academy in Antwerp. He died in the city in 1719.
