Abel Grimmer

Abel Grimmer (family name variations: 'Grimer' and 'Grimmaert') (c. 1570–c. 1620) was a Flemish late Renaissance painter, mainly of landscapes and, to a lesser extent, of architectural paintings. His works were important in the development towards more naturalism in Flemish landscape painting.

Grimmer was born and died in Antwerp. He learned to paint from his father, the landscape painter Jacob Grimmer. His father Jacob Grimmer had established a name for himself by imitating the work of Pieter Bruegel the Elder on small panel pictures and selling these on the market at low prices.

Abel Grimmer married Catharina Lescornet on 29 September 1591 and became a master of the Antwerp Guild of Saint Luke in 1592. He took over his father's workshop. He worked his whole career in Antwerp. The date of his death is not know exactly and is placed after 1620.

He often signed and dated his panels. His earliest dated work dates from 1586 and his latest dated work reads "162", so it is dated 1620 or later. He is principally known for his paintings in small format of country scenes, sometimes with a biblical theme. The works were at times in the form of roundels (i.e. in a round format). Many of his paintings were dedicated to the Four Seasons or the Months of the Year. The paintings were sometimes inspired by or even copied from prints by Pieter Bruegel the Elder and Hans Bol. Abel's work generally shows a strong influence of Bruegel and Bol as well as of his own father’s work. His series of the Twelve Months (dated 1592; held in the Chapelle Notre-Dame in Montfaucon-en-Velay) is an exact copy of Adriaen Collaert’s prints made after paintings by Hans Bol and published by Hans van Luyck in 1585. The paintings Spring and Summer (Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp) are almost exact copies of two prints by Pieter van der Heyden after designs by Pieter Bruegel the Elder.

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