Jan van Eyck

Jan van Eyck was a painter from the Low Countries and one of the towering figures of early Northern Renaissance art. Active in the early fifteenth century, he helped perfect the use of oil paint, building up thin, glowing layers to achieve astonishing detail and luminous color. His surfaces capture the sparkle of jewels, the sheen of fabric, and the fall of light with breathtaking realism.

His famous double portrait of a couple in a richly furnished room, filled with symbolic detail and a mirror reflecting the whole scene, is one of the most studied paintings in history. He also helped create the great multi-panel altarpiece in Ghent. Van Eyck's precision and mastery of light made him a pioneer whose influence shaped European painting for generations.