Balthasar van der Ast was a Dutch Golden Age painter who specialized in still lifes of flowers and fruit, as well as painting a number of exceptional shells still life's, he is believed to be a pioneer in the category of shell painting. His still lifes often contain insects and lizards. Balthasar van der Ast was born in Middelburg in the Southern Dutch province of Zeeland, in the family of a successful wool merchant. His birth was not recorded, but in later years, on 30 June 1618, his older brother Jacob's legal action specify that Balthasar was around 25 years old at the time, making his birth date 1593 or 1594. His father, Hans, was a widower, and when he died in 1609, Balthasar relocated to his older sister, Maria, and his brother-in-law, the important Dutch painter Ambrosius Bosschaert the Elder (1573–1621), whom Maria married in 1604. Van der Ast was trained by Bosschaert as a still-life painter, and his early works clearly show Bosschaert's influence. In turn, the three sons of Ambrosius Bosschaert, Ambrosius the Younger (1609–1645), Johannes (ca. 1612/13-1628 or later), and Abraham (1606-1683/84) were trained by van der Ast upon the death of their father. jointly, this group of painters is from time to time referred to as the “Bosschaert dynasty”.

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