>>149269130
Yes and no. Simply being able to produce art, especially realistic stuff, was already impressive enough for monarchs to want to keep you around. Obviously they would want specific stuff made once in a while, like a portrait of themselves or their family, but often the artist could mostly do what they want, since simply having a painting collection was impressive enough.
Cornelis Gijsbrechts work during his patronage at the Danish royal court is a good example of this.