Jan Miel mainly Dutch and Flemish artists working in Rome. It was customary for the Bentvueghels to adopt an appealing nickname, the so-called 'bent name'. For Miel two different bent names are documented: "Bieco" (which means squint in Italian) and "Honingh-Bie" (which means honey bee and is derived from the surname 'Miele' by which he was known in Italy and which means 'honey' in Italian). In Rome he also became linked to the circle of genre painters whose work was influenced by the Dutch genre painter Pieter van Laer and were referred to as 'Bamboccianti'. The Bamboccianti were mainly Dutch and Flemish
Alessandro Salucci from Dutch and Flemish Renaissance painting with them to Italy and created small-scale depictions of the lower classes in Rome and its countryside. Jan Miel was Salucci's most frequent collaborator, a collaboration, which commenced in 1635 and ended when Miel left Rome for Turin in 1658 to work at the court of Charles Emmanuel II, Duke of Savoy. The only dated example of the two artists' collaborative efforts is an "Imaginary Seaport" (Cincinnati Art Museum), which is dated to 1656. Miel excelled in depicting stories for which the large open spaces in Salucci's view paintings provided suitable settings. Miel often