Abel Grimmer was born in Antwerp, the son of the well known artist Jacob Grimmer. He married Catherina Lescornet in 1591 and a year later in 1592 he joined his father as a member of the Antwerp Guild.

His paintings are very broad based in subject matter and can depict scenes of village life as well as architectural and religious subjects, although he had a number of favored subjects notably the Four Seasons and the Months of the Year. It is however for his landscapes that he can be best appreciated. These pictures reflect not only the influence of work by his father but also, and more importantly the prints of Pieter Bruegel I and Hans Bol. His pictures often show large expanses of landscape, peopled with many little figures and animals They have a tremendous feeling of space and narrative. Some of his best known series, the Twelve Months of 1592 are exact copies of Adriean Collaerts prints after Bol and Spring and Summer, in Antwerp, are nearly exact copies after prints by Pieter van der Heyden after Pieter Bruegel I's designs.


Museums where examples of the artist's work can be found include:

Antwerp, Bowes Museum, Brussels, Rotterdam and Washington