LE MARCHAND DE POISSON

1626 · Lieu de travail

Haarlem

1631

Returns to Antwerp and joins the Guild of St Luke

Brouwer returns to his native Flanders and is registered as a master in the Antwerp Guild of St Luke, even before becoming a citizen of Antwerp. He lived and worked in the city until his death.

1631–1638

Debts and want in Antwerp

Brouwer's name regularly appears in Antwerp records in connection with the settlement of his debts; in his lifetime his paintings did not fetch high prices, and his household goods were seized for his creditors. His fellow artists valued him more highly than the market did: Rubens bought several of his pictures for his collection and tried to extend his patronage to the “incorrigible carouser”.

1631–1638 · Lieu de travail

Antwerp

1633

Jailed in the Antwerp Citadel

The reason for the imprisonment is unclear: possibly tax evasion, or perhaps politics, as the local authorities may have considered Brouwer a spy for the Dutch Republic.

janvier 1638

Died