Biography

A picture in the Hasselt Town Hall bears the signature and date 'N. van Galen F.A°.1657'. The painter is generally thought to have been Nicolaes van Galen, who is first recorded in Hasselt in 1647. He was the son of Juriaen van Galen and Rijkien van Ittersum, a woman of noble birth. In 1652, Nicolaes van Galen was in Kampen, where he had contact with the Amsterdam art dealer Jacob Ritsma. In 1676, he was the director of the hospital in Hasselt and in 1683 director of the municipal credit bank. It has been speculated that he was a member of the Hasselt patriciate and that he painted purely for his own pleasure.