Cornelius Bloemart, whose father & grandfather were also named Cornelius, was the third generation of a Dutch family of prominent artists. He served his apprenticeship under Crispijn de Passe and his patrons were Cortona and the Barberini family. Hunt describes him as "one of the great Dutch 17th century botanical artists". Trained as a painter, he excelled at translating the paintings of others into engravings. in 1630 he left Holland to travel to Paris & Rome. Bloemart is perhaps best known for the skillful engravings of citrus fruits that illustrated Ferrari's Hesperides published in Rome in 1646.