Jan van Eyck

Creator of the Ghent Altarpiece and founder of Early Netherlandish painting.

Life

Court painter

Van Eyck was born near the border of present-day Belgium and the Netherlands and served first the Counts of Holland and then Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, as court painter and envoy.

Oil painting

He refined the technique of oil painting, using multiple transparent layers of oil paint to render light, shadow and detail in bright, lasting colors. The Ghent Altarpiece (The Adoration of the Mystic Lamb), completed in 1432 with his elder brother Hubert, is the high point of Early Netherlandish painting. The Arnolfini Portrait of 1434 is famous for its meticulous details, such as the reflection in the mirror.

Ghent Altarpiece

He died in Bruges in 1441.

Legacy

Van Eyck is hailed as the "father of oil painting," and his realistic technique profoundly influenced European painting.

Major works & achievements

• Ghent Altarpiece
• Arnolfini Portrait

Did you know? The convex mirror on the wall of the Arnolfini Portrait faintly reflects the painter himself, and above the mirror is written "Jan van Eyck was here."

Key dates

• 1425Became court painter to the Duke of Burgundy
• 1432Completed the Ghent Altarpiece
• 1434Completed the Arnolfini Portrait
• 1441Died in Bruges