Jan Frans trained under his father. In 1706 Jan Frans van Bredael and his cousin Jozef entered into a contract with the Antwerp art dealer Jacob de Witte to produce for a number of years copies after the paintings of Philips Wouwerman and Jan Brueghel the Elder. Under the contract, Jan Frans was to receive for each copy he produced 10 guilders in the first year, 12 guilders in the second and 14 guilders in the third and fourth years plus a bonus of 2 shillings. At the end of the contract he would also get a new blue broadcloth coat. His brother Jozef was paid a marginally lower fee but was not bound like Jan Frans by an exclusivity obligation to work only for Jacob de Witte. Since Jan Frans and Jozef did not sign the copies they made, it is not possible to distinguish who was responsible for the individual copies that were produced under the contract. It is possible that the not so scrupulous art dealer de Witte even sold these copies as originals since the copies were such good imitations of the style of the original artists. Jan Frans finally ended up working for de Witte for a period of nine years.