The son of Pieter Casteels II (referred to as Casteels the Younger) and the grandson of Pieter Casteels the Elder, Flemish painter Pieter Casteels III was born in Antwerp in 1684. There he studied painting with his father. While Casteels II was best known for his capriccio harbor scenes and landscapes of his native Antwerp, Casteels III worked primarily in England, where he immigrated in 1708 at the age of 24 and began his career copying Old Master paintings for a London dealer. Casteels III painted still lifes of flowers, and bird and game scenes, and in 1726 produced a volume of twelve plates of bird etchings. Following the success of the publication, he created similar volumes for both flowers and fruit. Pieter Casteels III dep...