Jan van Eyck
Pioneering Early Netherlandish master, celebrated for innovative oil techniques.
Chronology: 1390 – 1441-06-09
Origins & Early Life
Jan van Eyck ( van EYEK; Dutch: [ˈjɑɱ vɑn ˈɛik]; c. before 1390 – 9 July 1441) was an early Netherlandish painter active in Bruges who was one of the early innovators of what became known as early Netherlandish painting, and one of the supreme figures of the Early Northern Renaissance. Such was his legacy, that he has been called "the inventor of oil-painting" by Vasari, Ernst Gombrich, and others, although this claim is now considered an oversimplification. Surviving records date his birth at around 1380 or 1390, in Maaseik (then Maaseyck, hence his name) by the Limburg in present-day Belgium.
Pivotal Works & Achievements
He took employment in The Hague around 1422, when he was already a master painter with workshop assistants, and was employed as painter and valet de chambre to John III the Pitiless, ruler of the counties of Holland and Hainaut. Some time after John's death in 1425, he was appointed as court painter to Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, and worked in Lille before moving to Bruges in 1429, where he lived until his death. He was highly regarded by Philip, and was dispatched on several diplomatic visits abroad, including one to Lisbon in 1428 to discuss the possibility of a marriage contract between...
Enduring Legacy & Impact
The historical impact and works continue to influence the modern world.
Source: Wikipedia