juan van der hamen y león (baptized 8 april 1596 – 28 march 1631) was a spanish painter, a master of still life paintings, also called bodegones. prolific and versatile, he painted allegories, landscapes, and large-scale works for churches and convents. today he is remembered mostly for his still lifes, a genre he popularized in 1620s madrid.juan van der hamen was baptized on 8 april 1596 in madrid, therefore, he must have been born there just days before that date. he was the son of jan van der hamen, a flemish courtier, who had moved to madrid from brussels before 1586, and dorotea witman g…