Jan van Eyck

Lore & Background

Surviving records date his birth at around 1380 or 1390, in Maaseik (then Maaseyck, hence his name) by the Limburg in present-day Belgium. 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 the duke and Isabella of Portugal. About 20 surviving paintings are confidently attributed to him, as well as the Ghent Altarpiece and the illuminated miniatures of the Turin-Milan Hours, all dated between 1432 and 1439. Ten are dated and signed with a variation of his motto ALS ICH KAN (As I (Eyck) can), a pun on his name, which he typically painted in Greek characters. Van Eyck painted both secular and religious subjects. His works include altarpieces, painted panels—diptychs (dismantled), triptychs, and polyptychs—and commissioned portraits. He was well paid by Philip, who wanted the painter to have the financial security and artistic freedom to paint "whenever he pleased." Van Eyck's early work shows influence from the International Gothic style, which he soon eclipsed, in part through a greater emphasis on naturalism and realism. He achieved a new level of virtuosity through his developments in the use of oil paint. His style and techniques profoundly altered the development of the Early Netherlandish school.

Reader's Guide

Little is known of Jan van Eyck's early life and neither the date nor place of his birth is documented. The first extant record of his life comes from the court of John of Bavaria at The Hague where, between 1422 and 1424, payments were made to Meyster Jan den malre (Master Jan the painter) who was then a court painter with the rank of valet de chambre, with at first one and then two assistants. This suggests a date of birth of 1395 at the latest. However, some scholars have argued it was closer to 1380. He was identified in the late 16th century as having been born in Maaseik, a borough of the prince-bishopric of Liège. His daughter Lievine was in a nunnery in Maaseik after her father's death. The notes on his preparatory drawing for Portrait of Cardinal Niccolò Albergati are written in the Maasland dialect. Van Eyck is known to have had two brothers, Hubert, who died in 1426 and with whom Jan probably served his apprenticeship and Lambert (active between 1431 and 1442), both also painters. The order of their births has not been established, though Alfred Acres states that Hubert was probably older than Jan. Van Eyck may also have had a sister, Margaret, also a painter, though her existence is uncertain and "could reflect a historical confusion with Jan's wife" Margaret. Another significant, and rather younger, painter who worked in Southern France, Barthélemy van Eyck, is presumed to be a relation. It is not known where Jan was educated, but he had knowledge of Latin and used the Greek and Hebrew alphabets in his inscriptions, indicating that he was schooled in the classics. This level of education was rare among painters, and would have made him more attractive to the cultivated Philip. Van Eyck served as official to John of Bavaria-Straubing, ruler of Holland, Hainault and Zeeland. By this time he had assembled a small workshop and was involved in redecorating the Binnenhof palace in The Hague. After John's death in 1425 he moved to Bruges and came to the attention of Philip the Good c. 1425. His emergence as a collectable painter generally follows his appointment to Philip's court, and from this point his activity in the court is comparatively well documented. He served as court artist and diplomat, and was a senior member of the Tournai painters' guild. On 18 October 1427, the Feast of St. Luke, he travelled to Tournai to attend a banquet in his honour

Did You Know?

• Van Eyck's motto ALS ICH KAN is a pun on his name, typically painted in Greek characters.
• He was dispatched to Lisbon in 1428 to discuss a marriage contract between Philip the Good and Isabella of Portugal.
• His brother Hubert collaborated on the Ghent Altarpiece, begun c. 1420 and completed by Jan in 1432.

Notable Quotes (Wikiquote)

"Jan van Eyck (c. 1385 – 9 July 1441) was a Flemish painter, one of the first artists to explore oil paint and one of the first to use the 3/4 pose." — Jan van Eyck "The inscription on the frame of Man in the Red Turban." — Jan van Eyck