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Roelant Savery (1578-1639) was born in Kortrijk in the midst of the tumultuous Eighty Years’ War. His family belonged to the large group of Flemings forced to flee to the Northern Netherlands (the present-day Netherlands) due to this conflict. In Amsterdam, Roelant was trained as a painter by his elder brother Jacob. In late 1603 or early 1604, he left for Prague to work for the Habsburg emperor Rudolf II, the greatest collector of his time. After the emperor’s death, he returned to the Netherlands and settled in Utrecht. A trailblazer, Roelant Savery pioneered several new genres in Dutch painting. His artistic range was extensive, encompassing drawn and painted landscapes, flowers, animals, and people. He depicted flora and fauna, including numerous species imported to Europe from all over the world for the first time. The earliest flower still life in Dutch painting is by Savery. And, he also portrayed the legendary dodo, the extinct bird of the African island of Mauritius.

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