Artists
Michel Sittow
- Country:
- Belgium
- Birth year:
- 1468
- Death year:
- 1525
Michel Sittow (c.1469 Reval-1525 Reval) was born in Reval, a city that at the time belonged to the German dominion in Estonia and was a member of the Hanseatic League. Sittow first learned painting from his father, the artist Claus van der Suttow. After Claus' death in 1428, Michel went to the Netherlands, settling in Bruges in 1484, where Hans Memling had a strong influence on him. In 1492 Sittow traveled to Spain. In Toledo he became court painter to Isabella I, The Catholicm of Castile (1451-1504). While in the service of Philip I, the Beautiful (1478-1506), he returned to the Netherlands in 1502; from 1506 on he again worked in Reval. In 1514 he was officially mentioned in Copenhagen at the court of King Christian II (1481-1559). In 1515 he was in Mechlin, working for Margarete of Austia (1480-1530), the city's regent. After a period in Valladolid, Sittow finally returned to Reval in 1518 and settled there permanently. Important works by the artist include Portrait of a Man, c. 1510, Maulery of Art, Washington D.C. and St. Anthony Altarpiece, c. 1520, Nikolai Church, Reval.