Georg Flegel was one of the most important still-life painters of the 17th century, and Germany's leading and most talented specialist in the genre. Mainly a painter of tables embellished with German gold- and silverware and Bohemian crystal, he only occasionally added flowers to his paintings.

Although born in Olmutz (now in the Czech Republic) in 1565 or 1566, he settled in Frankfurt and became a bourgeois of the city in 1597. The first mention of his name in the town's archives dates from November 14, 1594. There he met the brothers Lucas and Martin van Valckenborch (painters at the court of Archdukes Ernst and Matthias), who arrived from Flanders in 1592 in search of religious tolerance. He also knew Daniel and Isaac Soreau who had settled in nearby Hanau.

Georg Flegel's arrangement of individual objects and his brushstrokes are inimitable. Between 1593 and 1597, Lucas van Valckenborch and Georg Flegel worked together on large paintings. The monumental figures were painted by the Fleming while the rich still lifes were painted by the German. Georg Flegel pursued an artistic career which ranked him among some of the greatest German masters. Archdukes Maximilian of Bavaria and Ernst of Tyrol were his distinguished protectors. He resided in Frankfurt up until his death in 1638 and had Jacob Marrel as his pupil, and most probably Pieter Binoit.