Gerard Blomefont van Stein

Gerard Blomefont van Stein (1679-1730), often just known as Blomefont van Stein was a prolific Brunanter classical artist.

Biography
Very little is actually known about van Stein's personal life. Experts agree he was likely born in Niesburg, as he was baptized at St. Paul's Church on 11 June 1679. He began painting in the late 17th century; the oldest work attributed to him is a study of a dog. His formative work developed in the early 18th century. His early work tended to have lots of influences from Johannes Neyt the Younger.

Blomefont van Stein lived in a rented townhouse, where he painted most of his work. Desperately short on case, he would pay the rent to the city with his paintings. He continued painting until his death. Blomefont van Stein was interred in 1730, a few days after his death.

Legacy
The Town of Niesburg was, at Blomefont van Stein's death, the owner of the largest collection of his work, having 68 pieces. Much of it was stored in some old buildings but with his rise in prominence in the mid-8th century his work would be displayedin one of the earliest public galleries. During the liberation of Brunant in 1944, the town was shelled by the Nazis just as Canadian troops had freed it. A fire broke through the old center and engulfed 61 of Van Stein's paintings.

Today his work is extremely valuable, with many going for hundreds of thousands of Euros. Indeed, the National Art Museum paid Th. 65,000 for his Untitled landscape in 1927.