Jan van Eyck 1395 – 1441

Jan van Eyck 1433
Jan van Eyck 1433
From National Gallery, London:
Jan van Eyck is credited with originating a style of painting characterised by minutely realistic depictions of surface effects and natural light. This was made possible by using an oil medium, which allowed the building up of paint in translucent layers, or glazes.
Little is known of van Eyck's origins, but he probably came from Maaseik, near Maastricht, and was of the gentry class. He is first heard of in 1422 working in The Hague for John of Bavaria, ruler of Holland. From 1425 he was at Bruges and Lille as painter to Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy. In 1428 van Eyck was sent to Portugal to paint Philip the Good's future wife, Isabella of Portugal.
Van Eyck appears to have painted many religious commissions and portraits of Burgundian courtiers, local nobles, churchmen and merchants. A small group of his paintings survive with dates from 1432 onwards. One of his most famous works is the 'Arnolfini Portrait', signed and dated 1434. It is thought that his 'Portrait of a Man' may be a self portrait.

From Encyclopædia Britannica:
Jan van Eyck, (born before 1395, Maaseik, Bishopric of Liège, Holy Roman Empire [now in Belgium]—died before July 9, 1441, Bruges), Netherlandish painter who perfected the newly developed technique of oil painting. His naturalistic panel paintings, mostly portraits and religious subjects, made extensive use of disguised religious symbols. His masterpiece is the altarpiece in the cathedral at Ghent, The Adoration of the Mystic Lamb (also called the Ghent Altarpiece, 1432). Hubert van Eyck is thought by some to have been Jan’s brother.
Jan van Eyck must have been born before 1395, for in October 1422 he is recorded as the varlet de chambre et peintre (“honorary equerry and painter”) of John of Bavaria, count of Holland. He continued to work in the palace of The Hague until the count’s death in 1425 and then settled briefly in Bruges before he was summoned, that summer, to Lille to serve Philip the Good, duke of Burgundy, the most powerful ruler and foremost patron of the arts in Flanders. Jan remained in the duke’s employ until his death. On behalf of his sponsor he undertook a number of secret missions during the next decade, of which the most notable were two journeys to the Iberian Peninsula, the first in 1427 to try to contract a marriage for Philip with Isabella of Spain and a more successful trip in 1428–29 to seek the hand of Isabella of Portugal. As a confidant of Philip, Jan may have participated directly in these marriage negotiations, but he also was charged to present the duke with a portrait of the intended.
In 1431 Jan purchased a house in Bruges and, about the same time, married a woman named Margaret, about whom little more is known than that she was born in 1406 and was to bear him at least two children. Residing in Bruges, Jan continued to paint, and in 1436 he again made a secret voyage for Philip. After his death in 1441 he was buried in the Church of Saint-Donatian, in Bruges.

Jan van Eyck - The Three Marys at the Tomb 1422 Jan van Eyck - Baptism of Christ, detail of a page in the 'Heures de Turin' 1422 Jan van Eyck - The Birth of John the Baptist 1422 Jan van Eyck - Adam, from the left wing of the Ghent Altarpiece 1425-1429 Jan van Eyck - Eve, from the right wing of the Ghent Altarpiece 1425-1429 Jan van Eyck - Adoration of the Lamb 1425-1429 Jan van Eyck - The Offerings of Cain and Abel 1425-1429 Jan van Eyck - The Last Judgment, detail 1426 Jan van Eyck - The Ghent Altarpiece, The Virgin Mary 1426-1429
The Three Marys at the Tomb 1422 Baptism of Christ, detail of a page in the 'Heures de Turin' 1422 The Birth of John the Baptist 1422 Adam, from the left wing of the Ghent Altarpiece 1425-1429 Eve, from the right wing of the Ghent Altarpiece 1425-1429 Adoration of the Lamb 1425-1429 The Offerings of Cain and Abel 1425-1429 The Last Judgment, detail 1426 The Ghent Altarpiece, The Virgin Mary 1426-1429
Jan van Eyck - St. Francis Receiving the Stigmata 1427 Jan van Eyck - The Soldiers of Christ 1427-1430 Jan van Eyck - Portrait of a Man with a Blue Chaperon. Portrait of a Man with a Blue Hood 1430-1433 Jan van Eyck - Portrait of Cardinal Albergati 1431 Jan van Eyck - Portrait of Cardinal Albergati 1431 Jan van Eyck - Angel Annunciate, from exterior of left panel of the Ghent Altarpiece 1432 Jan van Eyck - Donor and St. John the Baptist 1432 Jan van Eyck - God the Father 1432 Jan van Eyck - Isabella Borluut, panel from the Ghent Altarpiece 1432
St. Francis Receiving the Stigmata 1427 The Soldiers of Christ 1427-1430 Portrait of a Man with a Blue Chaperon. Portrait of a Man with a Blue Hood 1430-1433 Portrait of Cardinal Albergati 1431 Portrait of Cardinal Albergati 1435 Angel Annunciate, from exterior of left panel of the Ghent Altarpiece 1432 Donor and St. John the Baptist 1432 God the Father 1432 Isabella Borluut, panel from the Ghent Altarpiece 1432
Jan van Eyck - Left panel from the Ghent Altarpiece 1432 Jan van Eyck - Portrait of a Young Man 1432 Jan van Eyck - St. Jerome in his Study 1432 Jan van Eyck - The Cumaean Sibyl 1432 Jan van Eyck - The Erythraean Sibyl 1432 Jan van Eyck - The Ghent Altar, detail 1432 Jan van Eyck - The Ghent Altar, detail 1432 Jan van Eyck - The Ghent Altar, detail 1432 Jan van Eyck - The Ghent Altar, detail 1432
Left panel from the Ghent Altarpiece 1432 Portrait of a Young Man. Léal Souvenir 1432 St. Jerome in his Study 1432 The Cumaean Sibyl 1432 The Erythraean Sibyl 1432 The Ghent Altar, detail 1432 The Ghent Altar, detail 1432 The Ghent Altar, detail 1432 The Ghent Altar, detail 1432
Jan van Eyck - The Ghent Altar, detail 1432 Jan van Eyck - The Ghent Altar, detail 1432 Jan van Eyck - The Ghent Altar, detail 1432 Jan van Eyck - The Ghent Altar, detail 1432 Jan van Eyck - The Ghent Altar, detail 1432 Jan van Eyck - The Ghent Altarpiece, detail 1432 Jan van Eyck - The Ghent Altarpiece 1432 Jan van Eyck - The Ghent Altarpiece, detail from the exterior of the right shutter 1432 Jan van Eyck - The Prophet Zacharias and the Angel Gabriel 1432
The Ghent Altar, detail 1432 The Ghent Altar, detail 1432 The Ghent Altar, detail 1432 The Ghent Altar, detail 1432 The Ghent Altar, detail 1432 The Ghent Altarpiece, detail 1432 The Ghent Altarpiece 1432 The Ghent Altarpiece, detail from the exterior of the right shutter 1432 The Prophet Zacharias and the Angel Gabriel 1432
Jan van Eyck - Virgin Annunciate, from the exterior of the right panel of the Ghent Altarpiece 1432 Jan van Eyck - A Man in a Turban 1433 Jan van Eyck - The Ince Hall Madonna. The Virgin and Child Reading 1433 Jan van Eyck - Giovanni Arnolfini and His Wife Giovanna Cenami. The Arnolfini Marriage, detail 1434 Jan van Eyck - Giovanni Arnolfini and His Wife Giovanna Cenami. The Arnolfini Marriage, detail 1434 Jan van Eyck - The Arnolfini Wedding. The Portrait of Giovanni Arnolfini and his Wife Giovanna Cenami. The Arnolfini Marriage 1434 Jan van Eyck - The Annunciation 1434-1436 Jan van Eyck - The Virgin of the Chancellor Rolin, detail 1434-1436 Jan van Eyck - The Virgin of the Chancellor Rolin, detail 1434-1436
Virgin Annunciate, from the exterior of the right panel of the Ghent Altarpiece 1432 A Man in a Turban 1433 The Ince Hall Madonna. The Virgin and Child Reading 1433 Giovanni Arnolfini and His Wife Giovanna Cenami. The Arnolfini Marriage, detail 1434 Giovanni Arnolfini and His Wife Giovanna Cenami. The Arnolfini Marriage, detail 1434 The Arnolfini Wedding. The Portrait of Giovanni Arnolfini and his Wife Giovanna Cenami. The Arnolfini Marriage 1434 The Annunciation 1434-1436 The Virgin of the Chancellor Rolin, detail 1434-1436 The Virgin of the Chancellor Rolin, detail 1434-1436
Jan van Eyck - The Virgin of the Chancellor Rolin, detail 1434-1436 Jan van Eyck - Portrait of a Man with Carnation 1435 Jan van Eyck - Portrait of Baudouin de Lannoy 1435 Jan van Eyck - Portrait of Giovanni Arnolfini 1435 Jan van Eyck - The Rolin Madonna. La Vierge au Chancelier Rolin 1435 Jan van Eyck - Madonna and Child with Canon Joris van der Paele 1436 Jan van Eyck - Portrait of Jan de Leeuw 1436 Jan van Eyck - The Lucca Madonna 1436 Jan van Eyck - The Madonna of Canon van der Paele, detail 1436
The Virgin of the Chancellor Rolin, detail 1434-1436 Portrait of a Man with Carnation 1435 Portrait of Baudouin de Lannoy 1435 Portrait of Giovanni Arnolfini 1435 The Rolin Madonna. La Vierge au Chancelier Rolin 1435 Madonna and Child with Canon Joris van der Paele 1436 Portrait of Jan de Leeuw 1436 The Lucca Madonna 1436 The Madonna of Canon van der Paele, detail 1436
Jan van Eyck - The Madonna of Canon van der Paele, detail 1436 Jan van Eyck - The Madonna of Canon van der Paele, detail 1436 Jan van Eyck - The Madonna of Canon van der Paele, detail 1436 Jan van Eyck - The Madonna of Canon van der Paele, detail 1436 Jan van Eyck - Small Triptych, central panel 1437 Jan van Eyck - St. Barbara 1437 Jan van Eyck - Virgin and Child with Saints and Donor 1441 Jan van Eyck - The Virgin and Child in a Church 1437 Jan van Eyck - The Madonna in the Church 1437-1439
The Madonna of Canon van der Paele, detail 1436 The Madonna of Canon van der Paele, detail 1436 The Madonna of Canon van der Paele, detail 1436 The Madonna of Canon van der Paele, detail 1436 Small Triptych, central panel 1437 St. Barbara 1437 Virgin and Child with Saints and Donor 1441 The Virgin and Child in a Church 1437 The Madonna in the Church 1437-1439
Jan van Eyck - Copy drawing of Madonna by the Fountain 1439 Jan van Eyck - Madonna and Child at the Fountain 1439 Jan van Eyck - Madonna and Child at the Fountain 1439 Jan van Eyck - Portrait of Margaret van Eyck 1439 Jan van Eyck - Portrait of Christ 1440 Jan van Eyck - The Annunciation. The Archangel Gabriel 1440 Jan van Eyck - The Annunciation Diptych 1440 Jan van Eyck - The Annunciation. The Virgin Mary 1440 Jan van Eyck - The Fountain of Grace Workshop of 1440-1445
Copy drawing of Madonna by the Fountain 1439 Madonna and Child at the Fountain 1439 Madonna and Child at the Fountain 1439 Portrait of Margaret van Eyck 1439 Portrait of Christ 1440 The Annunciation. The Archangel Gabriel 1440 The Annunciation Diptych 1440 The Annunciation. The Virgin Mary 1440 The Fountain of Grace Workshop of 1440-1445