Ambrosius Bosschaert was born at Antwerp, the center of the southern Netherlands, in 1573. In order to tell the difference between him and his son, who carries the same name and who also became a painter, just like the other sons Abraham and Johannes Bosschaert, Ambrosius Bosschaert later was given the sobriquet "the Elder".
In 1587/88 the family of Ambrosius Bosschaert the Elder moved to Middelburg in Zeeland, where Ambrosius Bosschaert the Elder is mentioned as painter in the Gild of St. Luke in 1593. It is unknown where and from whom he received lessons in art.
In 1604 Ambrosius Bosschaert the Elder married Maria van der Ast, the older sister of the painter Balthasar van der Ast, who, as it seems, became student of Ambrosius Bosschaert the Elder.
Ambrosius Bosschaert the Elder became specialized in flower still lives and was one of this genre’s most outstanding protagonists. In his later period of creation he also made still lifes of fruits in baskets made of pewter or porcelain. Paintings by Ambrosius Bosschaert the Elder are characterized by a strong coloring and a baffling Realism, which he did not only render on canvas, but also on wood or copper plates.
Ambrosius Bosschaert the Elder did not make paintings before he was thirty years of age, this can be explained by the fact that Ambrosius Bosschaert the Elder initially earned a living as an art merchant and began to paint as a profession at a later point only. As art dealer Ambrosius Bosschaert the Elder was active on an international level, making business from Antwerp with Ireland, England and Germany.
Up until 1613 there id proof for Ambrosius Bosschaert the Elder in Middelburg, in 1615 he is mentioned in Bergen-op-Zoom (Noord-Brabant) and a year later in Utrecht, where he was granted civil rights the same year and was accepted into the painters‘ gild. As of 1620 Ambrosius Bosschaert the Elder was active in Breda (Noord-Brabant). In 1621 he died in The Hague during a journey.