Thomas Mertens

Little is known about the life of Thomas Mertens other than that he was born in Antwerp as the son of the still life painter Cornelis. He is believed to have trained with his father. The artist was active in Antwerp in the second part of the 1660s.

Still life with a Wan-Li dish, fruit, and bread

The place and date of his death are unknown. The last record on him is his registration as a master of the Antwerp Guild of St. Luke in the guild year 1669/1679.

Thomas Mertens was only rediscovered in 1994. His known work is limited and only a few signed works are known. A work entitled Still life with fruit and oysters on a table dated 1666 (At Sotheby's New York, 22 April 2015, lot 11) indicates that his career should be situated in the latter half of the 1660s. Mertens was a specialist still life painter who is known for his fruit still lifes and pronkstillevens (i.e. sumptuous still lifes of luxurious objects).

A magnificent still life of grapes, lemons, peaches, figs, and a melon

In terms of composition and choice of motifs his work shows the influence of Jan Davidszoon de Heem, a Dutch still life painter who was active in Antwerp from the mid-1630s. He even produced copies of the work of de Heem. Another artist who influenced Mertens was Joris van Son, whose technique and preference for smooth finishes he shared.