Born in Antwerp, de Vos was a Flemish genre, portrait and historical painter. He was a pupil of Cornelis de Vos (no relation), and painted in Peter Paul Rubens' studio, but more as a collaborator than as a student. He painted with humor and imagination, unconcerned with accepted conventions of his day. De Vos took as his subject genre scenes (scenes from everyday life), merry companies and group portraits. The subject of this painting, a woman playing a lute and a man playing a flute has erotic implications and the scene may indeed take place in a brothel.
