Jan Frans van Dael was born in Antwerp in 1764. At the age of twelve, he began studying architecture at the Antwerp Academy. In 1786 he moved to Paris, where he initially worked as a decorative painter. He quickly gained renown as a painter of portraits, interiors and religious subjects before he devoted himself primarily to the representation of floral and fruit still lifes.

From 1791 van Dael regularly exhibited his work in the Parisian Salons and was honored with numerous awards, his sough-after works achieved the highest prices. He was popular with the French ruler and a protégé of the Empresses Josephine and Marie-Louise. For the wife of Napoleon, he created two large paintings ...