Jan van Eyck

Jan van Eyck (c. 1390–1441) was probably born in Maaseik, in the prince-bishopric of Liège, and probably served his apprenticeship with his brother Hubert. He first appears in the records around 1422 as court painter to John of Bavaria in The Hague. After John's death he entered the service of Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, working in Lille and then in Bruges, where he lived from 1429 until his death. Philip also sent him on diplomatic journeys, including one to Portugal to paint the duke's future bride, Isabella. His handling of oil paint was so far in advance of his contemporaries that a myth, spread by Vasari, credited him with inventing it. The Ghent Altarpiece, thought to have been begun by Hubert and completed by Jan in 1432, is his most famous work, and the Madonna of Chancellor Rolin belongs to the years 1434 to 1436 generally regarded as his high point. About twenty surviving paintings are confidently attributed to him, ten signed with his punning motto, Als ich kan. Here: Saint Francis Receiving the Stigmata, The Arnolfini Portrait and The Madonna of Chancellor Rolin.