Pieter Meulener or Peter Meulenaer, was one of the leading Flemish painters of battle scenes in the mid-17th century. He also painted landscapes with genre scenes.

Pieter Meulener was born in Antwerp as the son of genre painter Jan de Meuleneer and Elizabeth Floris. He was baptised on 18 February 1602 in Antwerp Cathedral. His grandfather was the Flemish Renaissance painter Cornelis Molenaer who was known for his landscapes. It is assumed that he was trained by his father Jan who had joined the Antwerp Guild of Saint Luke in 1598. Pieter joined the Guild in 1631 as a "wijnmeester" (literally: winemaster), which means he was the son or brother of a current member. He likely got married the same year to Maria Hendrickx.

SInce no early dated works have been discovered, it is likely he initially assisted his father in his workshop. He started out on his own account in 1642.

He was successful as he was able to rent a luxurious residence. When he died in 1654 he was recorded as having one daughter of 20 years old and a son of 15 years old.