Jacob van Hulsdonck probably spent his youth in the town of Middleburg, the Netherlands, where he first studied painting. At the age of twenty-seven, he returned to his native Antwerp and joined the painters' guild. There he became the master of a prosperous studio specializing in still life painting. He specialized in painting fruit pieces composed of perfect, brightly colored plums, grapes, and peaches on ordinary tabletops. Viewers admired his paintings for their beauty, delight in textures, and delicately drawn shapes.