Many of the artists associated with the Bamboccianti were members of the "Bentvueghels" (Dutch for 'birds of a feather'), an informal association of mainly Dutch and Flemish artists in Rome. It was customary for the Bentvueghels to adopt an appealing nickname, the so-called 'bent name'. The bent name of the Dutch painter Pieter van Laer was ""Il Bamboccio"", which means "ugly doll" or "puppet". This was an allusion to van Laer's ungainly proportions. Van Laer is regarded as the initiator of the Bamboccianti style of genre painting and his nickname gave the genre and the group of artists its collective name. He became the inspiration and focal point around which likeminded artists congregated during his stay in Italy (1625–1639).