Osias Beert (Birt) or Osias Beert the Elder (c. 1580-1623) was a Flemish painter known for his still lifes of flowers and banquet (breakfast) pieces, in which he played a pioneering role.

 🖌️🎨 Osias Beert (Birt) or Osias Beert the Elder (c. 1580-1623) was a Flemish painter known for his still lifes of flowers and banquet (breakfast) pieces, in which he played a pioneering role.
He played an important role in the initial development of flower still lifes and "breakfast" (ontbijtjes) as independent genres in Northern European art.
He is recognized as one of the most influential artists of the first generation of Flemish still life painters.
Little is known about the early life of this artist. It is believed that he was born in Antwerp or possibly Kortrijk around 1580. His family had settled in Antwerp by 1582. Here he studied under the little-known Andries van Baesrode (or "van Baseroo"). He joined the city's Guild of St. Luke in 1602.
He married Margriet (or Marguerite) Yckens on January 8, 1606. In 1622, the couple had a son, Osias Beert the Younger, who became a master of the Guild of St. Luke in 1645. Osias Beert the Younger, as well as the students of Osias Beert the Elder, are probably responsible for the many copies and variants of Beert the Elder's compositions that still exist.
It is unlikely that Osias Beert the Younger studied under his father, as his father is believed to have died when his son was very young.
Margriet Yckens was Frans Yckens' aunt.
Beert was not only a painter, but also a cork merchant. The fact that he had a second profession suggests that he did not earn much income from his artistic work. He lived in the Schipperskwartier (shippers' district), a modest area of Antwerp. After his death, his widow Margriet Jkens was forced to sell the couple's furniture and paintings to pay off a debt to the artist David Rijckart II, who had lent them money to start a business. Beert was also a member of one of the local chambers of rhetoric, suggesting that he was involved in intellectual pursuits other than painting.
Osias Beert collaborated with Peter Paul Rubens on at least one painting, Pausias and Glyker (John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art). He influenced his nephew Frans Jkens, as well as other Antwerp artists such as Jacob Foppens van Es and Jacob van Hulsdonck.
He is believed to have died in Antwerp in late 1623.

Sources: wikipedia; frikki-wiki.