Hendrick van Balen and Jan Brueghel the elder, attributed to, Minerva Visits the Nine Muses

In the early seventeenth century, Minerva and the Muses was a popular subject among German and Dutch Mannerists. It offered artists the opportunity to depict female nudes and exotically dressed women in fantastic scenes and in combination with precious musical instruments.
Hendrick van Balen I became a master in the Antwerp Guild of Saint Luke when he was only seventeen years old. In 1609 he was appointed chairman of the guild. He was a highly gifted figure painter and is documented to have contributed the staffage to landscapes by such artists as Jan Brueghel I, Jan Brueghel II, Frans Francken II, Abel Grimmer, Jan van Kessel I, Joos de Momper, Frans Snyders, Lucas van Uden, Sebastian Vrancx among others. Only few examples of his collaboration with Jan Brueghel I have survived. Small, elegant figures and subtly executed nudes are typical of his art. Jan Brueghel I congenially painted the landscape background and the still life elements.