A rustic by a barn with his donkey and other animals

Although Houbraken records that the artist travelled rather unsuccessfully to England, there is no record of him in Italy, and the Italianate ambience of much of van Bergen's oeuvre is inspired less by a knowledge of the Roman campagna than by his teacher, Adriaen van de Velde. Van Bergen lived a colourful life but despite his pictures selling well, he died in poverty by 1702 and was buried at his friends' expense.