Balthasar van Cortbemde

Balthasar van Cortbemde (Antwerp, 8 April 1612 – Antwerp, prior to 24 December 1663) was a Flemish painter, copyist and art dealer. He is only known for one painting.

Life Balthasar van Cortbemde was born in Antwerp as a son of the art dealer Philips van Cortbemde and Catharine Verluyt.

He was registered as a pupil of Jan Blanckaert in 1626. On 26 March 1637 he married Ursula van Hoecke, the sister of the painter Jan van den Hoecke. The couple has six children. It depicts a scene from the biblical Parable of the Good Samaritan. It shows the Samaritan traveler who has descended from his horse and is nursing the wounds of a man who was injured by robbers. According to the parable a Levite and priest had also passed the injured man without helping him. The painting shows the Levite on the left behind a tree and a little more in the distance the priest reading a book. This work shows that the artist was a talented artist.