Quentin Metsys was the most important painter in Antwerp in the early 16th century. There are several legends about his training, but no established facts: Biographers of the 16th century describe him as self-taught, who originally was a blacksmith. Supposedly he taught himself to paint, either to impress a girl or because he could no longer work as a blacksmith due to illness. Based on his style, it can be assumed that he was trained either by the Bouts brothers in his home town of Leuven or in Hans Memling's workshop in Brussels. Around 1495, Metsys settled in Antwerp as a painter, specialising in portraits and small paintings, but also producing some altarpieces for churches in Leuven and Antwerp. One of his best-known works is The Moneylender and His Wife of 1514 (Paris, Louvre), which – like many of his other paintings – shows the influence of Italian painting. The painting was in the collection of the painter Peter Paul Rubens for some time, who admired Metsys' work. Thanks to the growing demand for his paintings, Metsys was soon able to afford two luxurious houses in Antwerp. Albrecht Dürer visited him in one of the houses in 1520. Two of Quentin Metsys' sons and a grandson also became painters.