Biography

According to Houbraken, he was brought up to become a merchant. Schooled in Latin, French, and drawing, he spent time as a clerk (in a "comptoir"), but showed more talent for painting, which he learned from friend Bartholomeus Meyburgh

Bartholomeus Meyburgh

Bartholomeus Meyburgh , was a Dutch Golden Age painter.-Biography:According to Houbraken he was a good portrait and history painter born in Maaslandsluis, who was a friend of the painter Christoffel Pierson, who was only three years younger than he, but whom he taught to paint in 1651. Together...

, who was only 3 years older than he was. In 1551-1552 he spent a year studying with Meyburgh, and then he moved to Schiedam

Schiedam

Schiedam is a city and municipality in the province of South Holland in the Netherlands. It is part of the Rotterdam metropolitan area. The city is located west of Rotterdam, east of Vlaardingen and south of Delft...

, where he married his first wife in 1652. In 1653 he travelled with Meyburgh to Germany. On the way back they travelled through Bremervoorde, where they met with the Swiss Army, and Pierson painted the portrait of Fieldmarshall Carl Gustaf Wrangel

Carl Gustaf Wrangel

Carl Gustaf Wrangel was a high-ranking Swedish noble, statesman and military commander in the Thirty Years', Torstenson, Bremen, Second Northern and Scanian Wars....

. The fieldmarshall was so satisfied that he offered both men the chance of becoming court painter to Queen Christina, but they turned it down, Meyburgh because he didn't want to, and Pierson because he had only just gotten married 6 months beforehand.

Upon his return to the Netherlands Pierson moved his household to Gouda where, inspired by the success of Anthonie Leemans

Anthonie Leemans

Anthonie Leemans , was a Dutch Golden Age painter.-Biography:According to Houbraken, who did not specify which brother he meant, he made a profitable living making trompe l'oeil paintings of hunting paraphernalia, birdcages, and weaponry.According to the RKD he was the older brother of the painter...

, he made a profitable living making similar trompe l'oeil paintings of hunting paraphernalia, birdcages, and weaponry. He was so successful at this that many were fooled into believing that these objects truly hung on the wall. In Gouda he also made drawings on parchment of the famous stained glass windows of the Janskerk (Gouda)

Janskerk (Gouda)

The Sint Janskerk in Gouda, the Netherlands, is a large Gothic church, known especially for its stained glass windows, for which it has been placed on the UNESCO list of Dutch monuments.-History:...

, including those by the brothers Dirk Crabeth

Dirk Crabeth

Dirk Pietersz Crabeth was a Dutch Renaissance glass painter, tapestry designer, and mapmaker. He was employed by the Janskerk during the 16th century, where he created eight of the stained glass windows during the years 1555-1571...

 and Wouter Crabeth I

Wouter Crabeth I

Wouter Pietersz Crabeth , was a Dutch Renaissance glass painter. He was employed by the Janskerk during the Protestant Reformation, where he created six of the stained glass windows during the years 1555-1571...

, for the Gouda city council. After the death of his first wife, he remarried a woman from Schiedam and moved back there in 1679, where he lived until 1691 before returning to Gouda, where he later died.

He was also a good poet, and wrote as many poems as he made paintings. The painter and printmaker Arnoud van Halen

Arnoud van Halen

Arnoud van Halen , was a 18th century painter from the Northern Netherlands.-Biography:According to Houbraken he painted Christoffel Pierson's portrait for his "cabinet of poets", which held portraits of over 100 people by the time Houbraken was writing .According to the RKD he was also known as...

 made a portrait of him for his cabinet of poets, that at the time Houbraken was writing, totalled more than 100 portraits.

His last play Dagobert was published in the year of his death.

Though he worked in several locations, most notably in Gouda and Schiedam, he is registered only in 1685 as a member of the Schiedam Guild of St. Luke.