Jan van Eyck

Jan van Eyck (c. 1390-1441) was a painter from the Southern Netherlands and one of the founders of Early Netherlandish painting. He worked for Count John of Bavaria in The Hague and from 1425 as court painter to Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, mainly in Bruges. With his brother Hubert he painted the Ghent Altarpiece in St Bavo's Cathedral (completed 1432). His oil paint in thin, translucent layers gave unprecedented precision in light and detail, as in the Arnolfini Portrait (1434) in London. Only about twenty of his paintings are known.