One of four sons of the painter Salomon de Bray (1597-1664) who was active in Haarlem. His birth date is not known. His earliest work dates from 1651 at which time he was doing etchings an woodcuts for books and journals, and also he did a handbook on bookbinding. He does not seem to have begun painting until the 1670s and he is recorded as a secretary of the guild in 1671. Except for a single portrait, he apparently painted only still lifes. There are signed and dated works from 1671 until 1678. Thereafter, he is supposed to have become a monk and retired to a monastery in Brabant. His death date is not known.