Jan van Eyck was one of the first masters of oil painting and also one of the most important Renaissance artists of the 15th century. Although only about 25 works are attributed to him with certainty, his extraordinary recreation of reality had a great influence on the early Flemish painters.

Renaissance realism

The pictorial world of a Flemish master

Often imitated but never equalled, Jan van Eyck (c. 1390-1441) left an indelible mark on Renaissance art and paved the way for future realist painters. With unprecedented precision and masterful use of colour, The Arnolfini Marriage, depicting the marriage of a young couple, is testimony to the mastery of the Flemish painter, a leading figure in the Dutch school of Flemish Primitive painting. Van Eyck painted both secular and religious subjects, and emphasised a realism and naturalism that moved seamlessly between the reflection of everyday life in the 15th century and poetic and celestial approaches. He worked in oil paint and brought technical innovations that allowed for colours of great intensity and depth.
Learn about the artist's impressive oeuvre with this hardcover monograph that includes altarpieces, religious images and commissioned portraits.With expanded details and detailed analyses of masterpieces such as the Ghent Polyptych, this book also provides a chronology of Van Eyck's work, including the output of his workshop, which continued even after his death.

About the author

Till-Holger Borchert studied art history, musicology and Germanic literature at the universities of Bonn and Bloomington (IN). This renowned expert on early Dutch painting has worked as chief curator at the Groeninge Museum in Bruges since 2002 and has been director of the Bruges Museum since 2014. Borchert teaches art history at the universities of Aachen (Germany), Memphis and Middlebury (USA) and has curated exhibitions in Brussels, Rome, Madrid and New York. He directs the Flemish Centre for Art Research in the Burgundian Netherlands.

Publisher: Taschen