Thomas van Apshoven was a Flemish painter who was active in Antwerp in the 17th century. He was born in Antwerp in 1612, the son of Ferdinand van Apshoven, a painter. He studied with his father and later with David II Teniers, one of the leading painters of the Flemish Baroque.

Van Apshoven was a prolific painter, and he produced a wide range of works, including genre paintings, still lifes, and paintings of art galleries. His genre paintings often depict scenes of everyday life, such as markets, taverns, and interiors. His still lifes are typically characterized by their meticulous attention to detail and their use of rich colors.

Van Apshoven’s paintings of art galleries, or “Kunstkammers,” are some of his most famous works. These paintings depict rooms filled with paintings, sculptures, and other works of art. They are notable for their documentary accuracy, as the works of art on the walls can often be identified as paintings by leading masters of the past.

Van Apshoven’s paintings were popular during his lifetime, and he was commissioned by a number of important patrons, including the Archduke Leopold Wilhelm of Austria. He died in Antwerp in 1674. His paintings can be found in the collection of museums such as Gemäldegalerie, Berlin; Kunsthalle, Bremen; Kunsthistoriches Museum, Vienna and many others.

Thomas Van Apshoven’s painting “Artist’s Studio (of David Teniers II?)” is a classic example of the Kunstkammer genre. The painting depicts a studio filled with paintings, sculptures, and other works of art. The artist, who is thought to be David II Teniers, is shown working at his easel.

The painting is notable for its documentary accuracy. David Teniers the Younger is the most important person in the present work, seated with his brushes in front of the easel. The walls are covered with his and his contemporary painter colleagues’ works. It is still today possible to identify many of the paintings on the wall. Works by Adrien Brouwer, Peter Paul Rubens and Pieter van Mol have found a place in Tenier’s studio. On the one hand he advertises his own paintings and two
men are looking with interest. On the other hand he also tells the viewer that he is a collector and a connoisseur.

The Kunstkammer genre was popular at the court of Flemish collectors in the first decades of the 17th century. These paintings typically served as an illustration of abstract allegorical representations and concepts, and images of numerous, more often all concrete, identifiable works of art, sculptures and jewelry personify the highest achievements of handmade craftsmanship. By virtue of documentary accuracy, these images represent an undoubted historical interest.