Following the Renaissance, there was a surge of artistic talent from the Netherlands and the rest of Northern Europe. Painters like Vermeer and Rembrandt became known and celebrated across the continent, bringing in new techniques that would lead to the Baroque age of painting. And among their ranks was another key artist, a Flemish painter named Jan van Eyck.

While the artist himself is celebrated as one of the best, we know little about van Eyck's life. It's believed that he was born in Maesheyck, a small town in Belgium, and that he was most active in the region of Bruges. In 1420, van Eyck and his brother Hubert collaborated on the creation of a 12-panel painting series known as the Ghent Altarpiece at the request of a local merchant and patron in the town of Ghent. By 1425, van Eyck had been appointed as a painter to the court of the Duke of Burgundy, Philip the Good. From his patronage, the Flemish painter became widely known for his illuminated miniatures and his attention to detail. He's also noted for being one of the few painters in the Netherlands at that time to enjoy a consistent annual salary for his work, as the common practice was to pay artists by commission only. So protected, van Eyck continued to work and paint until his death in 1441.

What set Jan van Eyck apart from previous generations of painters was his portrayal of human beings. Rather than adopt an idealized image like so many Renaissance painters, he focused on painting the truth, even if it meant the occasional unflattering portrait of his patron's wife. But his skill in bringing realism into his work was strong enough to earn him praise in the upper circles of European society. Van Eyck was also well-read and educated in the classics, bringing his knowledge of Greek and Latin to bear in the inscriptions he left on many paintings.

Besides the Ghent Altarpiece that he completed with his brother, one of van Eyck's better-known paintings is the Arnolfini Portrait. This full-length painting, created in 1434, is believed to be a depiction of Italian merchant Giovanni di Nicolao Arnolfini and his wife posing inside their home in Bruges. While it appears to be a simple portrait depicting a couple in life, van Eyck added small but brilliant details that makes the painting far more intricate. Hanging on the wall between the couple is a small convex mirror that—on close inspection—reflects the reverse of the scene perfectly and shows the artist painting tem, adding more space to an otherwise small setting. Every texture of skin and fabric was created using a series of translucent glazes, bringing more color and depth with each brushstroke. Modern scholars and art critics believe the painting to be a visual record of the Arnolfini couple's marriage contract, making this portrait one of the first truly domestic scenes captured by a serious artist.

To see more paintings by Jan van Eyck, you can visit the National Gallery in London, the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., and the Museum of Fine Arts in Ghent.

Image by Playing Futures: Applied Nomadology on Flickr