(b Middelburg, ?1593–4; d Delft, bur 19 Dec 1657). Dutch painter. He was the brother-in-law of Ambrosius Bosschaert (i), whose household he entered in 1609, after the death of his father. He remained as Bosschaert’s pupil, until he was 21. In 1615 van der Ast moved with the Bosschaert family to Bergen-op-Zoom. However, a year later the Bosschaerts were living in Utrecht, but van der Ast is not recorded there until 1619, when he was entered as a master in the Guild of St Luke. He remained in Utrecht until 1632, then lived in Delft, where he enrolled in the painters’ guild on 22 June 1632. On 26 February 1633 he married Margrieta Jans van Bueren in Delft, where he spent the rest of his career; the marriage produced two children.

• Ast, Balthasar van der
  • Bosschaert
  • Netherlands,the, §III, 4(i): Painting and graphic arts, c 1550–c 1680: Middelburg
  • Netherlands, the, §III, 4(v): Painting and graphic arts, c 1550–c 1680: Utrecht
  • pupils
    • Flower painting, §2(ii): Late 17th century
  • teachers
    • Bosschaert: (1) Ambrosius Bosschaert
  • works
    • Flower painting, §2(i): Early 17th century
    • Still-life, §2: 14th to 17th centuries: Renaissance and Baroque
    • Vanitas, §2: The Netherlands