a Dutch Golden Age portrait painter. He was the son of a schoolmaster in Delft, where he learned painting from Michiel Jansz van Mierevelt , a prominent portrait painter in the Netherlands. Late in 1640 he moved to London to join Anthony van Dyck's studio as a pupil and assistant, but had little time to learn from Van Dyck himself as the latter fell ill and died in 1641. Christina sent him on tour to the European courts, apparently also for political purposes. While sick in Germany he was thought dead and prepared for burial, but revived and was gradually restored to life.
