Jan Baptist Lambrechts painted in the first half of the 18th century interior and open air genre scenes. He worked in Antwerp, Lille, Germany and Vienna. There is no proof that he stayed in Italy, but in some of his paintings he painted a palm tree.

 

This is a very early representation of people drinking tea, definitely not coffee. Similar paintings are in museums in Lille and in Prague.

 

 

Flemish painter

Antwerp 1680 – after 1731 and before 1751

 

Jan Baptist Lambrechts was a genre painter of tavern and kitchen interiors; occasionally he also painted animated companies in the open air and lively market scenes. He also painted contemporary Commedia dell’Arte theatre troupes. 

 

Although quite a few paintings by the artist have survived, not much is known about his career. 

According to F.J. van der Branden, who wrote in 1883 three volumes on Antwerp artists, Lambrechts went to France as a picture dealer in 1703, and was in Lille in 1704.

Back in Antwerp in 1709, he became a member of the town guard of the “Ouden Voetboog” in 1721. 

He seems to have left Antwerp in around 1731 to pursue his career in Germany and in Vienna. After this date there are no more mentions of Jan Baptist Lambrechts.

 

Paintings by the artist hang in the museums of Braunschweig, Augsburg, Bamberg, Nuremberg, Brussels, Ghent, Dublin, Florence, Gratz, Carcassonne, Lille, Nancy, Nantes, Prague, Quimper and Stockholm among others.

 

 

How often can you buy a Flemish, first half 18th century painting representing an elegant company drinking tea under a palm tree? Lambrechts painted this intriguing combination a few times, but all other examples are in museums.