Zeger Jacob van Helmont (1683 – 1726)

• Was a Flemish painter and tapestry designer.
• He Was born in Antwerp as the son of the history and portrait painter Jan van Helmont and Isabella le Rousseau.

• He trained with his father but did not join the local Guild of Saint Luke in Antwerp.

• In 1711, he moved to Brussels, the capital of the Spanish Netherlands and the location of the court.

• In Brussels he joined the local Guild of Saint Luke hoping to find a ready market for his work. 

• As the result of the 1695 Bombardment of Brussels by French troops many churches, guilds and the local authorities ordered new artworks to replace those destroyed during the bombardment.

• Van Helmont secured numerous commissions.

• He also found employment designing cartoons for the local tapestry works.

• He is known for paintings and tapestry designs of historical allegories, religious compositions and portraits.

• He also made a series of scenes of country life 'after Teniers' together with the landscape painter Augustin Coppens.

• He died in Brussels. 

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