About the Artist

Was the court painter for Prince Johann of Bavaria, the Count of Holland in 1422 and in 1425 entered the service of Philip the Good of Burgundy (1396-1467) in Lille. He traveled to Spain and Portugal several times, and in 1430 he settled in Brussels . Van Eyck's innovative conception of the pictorial representation of reality had an enormous influence on European art. He showed the human figure as a body existing in a full space, rendered nature with exacting detail, and distinguished himself through his new style of surface realism. With the development of oil paints, he was able to achieve a powerful, unprecedented use of light and depth of colour. Major works by the artist include Cardinal Nicola Albergati, 1432, Man with a Red Turban, 1433, Madonna of Canon, Georg van der Paele, 1436.