JAN PHILIP VAN THIELEN (Mechelen, 1618-Booischot, 1667) and ERASMUS QUELLINUS II (Antwerp, 1607-1678), attributed. "The Virgin and Child. Oil on copper. Size: 44 x 36,5 cm; 55,5 x 48 cm (frame). In the Flemish school of the Baroque period, the painters often specialised in specific genres. In the present painting, the garland is attributed to Jan Philip van Thielen and the Virgin and Child to Erasmus Quellinus II (who had previously collaborated with Rubens). The two collaborated on more than one occasion. The highly developed floral garland competes for prominence with the subject it frames. The almost botanical precision and maturity of the flowers is characteristic of Thielen's work. Warm tones dominate, with white tones adding luminosity. The false painted frame was also common in Thielen's painting, which echoed the prevailing trends in Flanders. This work is comparable to others in which he collaborated with other painters, such as "Madonna and Child" (Florence, Uffizi) and "Garland with the Bust of Flora" (Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum). As for the tender image of the Virgin and Child lying on her mother's breast, it responds to Quellinus's sweet and sensual language. The child's foreshortened body is skilfully modelled by the play of chiaroscuro. Mary's red mantle harmonises with the juicy petals. Jan Philip van Thielen was a Flemish Baroque painter who specialised in vases and garlands. From a noble family, he held the title of Lord of Cauwenberg. At the age of thirteen he was apprenticed to his brother-in-law Theodoor Rombouts in Antwerp. He later studied with Daniel Seghers, whose most outstanding follower he became. In 1642 he entered the guild of Saint Luke in Antwerp as a master. Two of his nine children, Anna Maria Theresia and Francisca Catharina van Thielen, also became flower painters. In October 1660 he enrolled as a free master in the guild of Saint Luke in Mechelen. Esteemed in the years during which he was active as the most important Flemish garland painter, he enjoyed the protection of Archduke Leopold Wilhelm and at least one of his most valued and imitated compositions, Saint Philip in a Niche Surrounded by Flowers, now in the Museo del Prado, entered the Spanish royal collection. Also known as Erasmus "The Younger", Erasmus Quellinus II was a painter and draughtsman of the Flemish school, a member of a prestigious family of artists (mainly sculptors, but also engravers and painters). He began his training as a sculptor with his father, Erasmus Quellinus I, then turned to painting (he studied with Jan-Baptist Verhaeghe) and chose for his work a style close to that of the Flemish Caravaggists of the time (Gerard Seghers...). He managed to establish himself as an independent master around 1633. Around this time he began to collaborate with Rubens (including the four oil paintings on a sketch by Rubens for the Torre de la Parada, now in the Museo del Prado), and later he also worked frequently with Daniel Seghers and Jan Philip van Thielen. After Rubens' death he became one of the most successful painters in Flanders.