Van Brussel was a Dutch landscape painter who was born in Haarlem on 8 October 1793. He studied under Johan Bernard Brandhoff (1738-1803) and Christiaan Henning (1741-1822). He initially earned his living as a wallpaper painter and theatre decorator, painting the Amsterdam Theatre and the theatre at the Loo Palace for King Louis Napoleon. He travelled around painting the landscapes of Haarlam as well as visiting other towns and cities nearby to paint views there.

He married Anna Maria Jacoba Gaussen in 1796, with whom he had 7 children. Around 1810, the family moved to Utrecht where he continued to paint until his untimely death on 23 February 1815. Examples of his work can be found at the Teylers Museum and the Rembrandt Association. A portrait of him by Ernst Willem Jan Bagelaar can be found at the Rijks Museum.