Jacob Gillig was a Dutch Golden Age painter

Dutch Golden Age painting

Dutch Golden Age painting is the painting of the Dutch Golden Age, a period in Dutch history generally spanning the 17th century, during and after the later part of the Eighty Years War for Dutch independence. The new Dutch Republic was the most prosperous nation in Europe, and led European trade,...

 of still lifes, usually of fish. Although he produced several portraits, it is for painting fish that he is best known.

Gillig was born and died in Utrecht

Utrecht (city)

Utrecht city and municipality is the capital and most populous city of the Dutch province of Utrecht. It is located in the eastern corner of the Randstad conurbation, and is the fourth largest city of the Netherlands with a population of 312,634 on 1 Jan 2011.Utrecht's ancient city centre features...

. He apparently did not begin painting until his twenties, never registered as a master with the Utrecht Guild of Painters, and worked a merchant and then as a prison warden. He married a daughter of Abraham Willaerts

Abraham Willaerts

Abraham Willaerts was a Dutch Baroque painter, mostly of marine and harbor scenes.Willaerts was born in Utrecht, the son of the painter Adam Willaerts. He trained with his father, becoming a member of the Utrecht guild of painters in 1624, and studied under Jan van Bijlert in Utrecht and with...

 in 1661. According to Houbraken, he tried his hand at portrait painting, but his likenesses were not very like his subjects.

His works, as in the example to the right, favored pyramidal compositions. These were much respected in Utrecht at the time, and several of his works were copied by Abraham Mignon

Abraham Mignon

Abraham Mignon or Minjon , was a Dutch golden age painter, specialized in flower bouquets.-Biography:Mignon was born at Frankfurt. His father, a merchant, placed him under the care of the still-life painter Jacob Marrel, when he was only seven years old. Marrel specialized in flower painting, and...

.