The younger brother of Pieter van Bloemen, called Standaart, Jan Frans van Bloemen was born in Antwerp in 1662. He trained under the painter Anton Goubau until at least 1681, though contact with his brother was important as well. In 1686 or 87 the two settled in Rome, where the artists of the Schildersbent, the lively company of Northern artists, gave Jan Frans the nickname Orizzonte for his facility in depicting long, luminous horizons in his landscapes.

Orizzonte specialized in landscape painting, studying both the Roman countryside and the works of the Frenchman Gaspard Dughet. He enjoyed the patronage of Roman noble families, including the Doria and Colonna, whose galleries still display the works acquired around the turn of the 18th century. Unlike his brother, Orizzonte remained in the papal city until his death in 1749. His imaginative Arcadian scenes, frequently peopled with figures drawn from ancient history and mythology, were based on drawings made during sketching excursions into the countryside but composed in the studio. Here, the landscape is organized for visual interest, with the picturesque meander of the stream leading the eye to distant hills.