Pieter Coecke van Aelst was a Flemish artist who worked in the first half of the 16th century in Brussels and Antwerp in a very wide range of visual arts, ranging from church decoration to jewelry, stained glass, and tapestry.
He was the son of the Deputy Mayor of Aalst and had the opportunity to receive a good and comprehensive education. Pieter Coecke was fluent in a number of foreign languages, and he was a translator from Latin to German, Dutch, and French to ancient treatises on art and literature.
With this activity, as well as with his work as an artist and architect, he widely promotes Ancient Greek and Roman art in Northern Europe and was one of the pioneers of the neoclassical style in European art that has replaced the old Gothic.