| Craesbaeck is famous for having been a baker employed at Antwerp Castle, where he met the imprisoned Adriaen Brouwer in 1633. Craesbaeck befriended Brouwer and became his pupil and, according to Houbraken, his drinking and smoking companion. In 1634 Craesbaeck became master in the Antwerp Guild as baker and painter. In 1651 he was admitted to the Brussels Guild. His early work follows Brouwer, although he later adopted the greater emotional depth, larger scale, and lighting techniques of Rembrandt. |
