Geertgen tot Sint Jans

Geertgen tot Sint Jans
Geertgen tot Sint Jans
Bornc. 1465
Leiden, Burgundian Netherlands
Diedc. 1495 (aged approximately 28)
Haarlem, Habsburg Netherlands
NationalityDutch
EducationAlbert van Ouwater
Known forPainting
MovementEarly Netherlandish painting

Geertgen tot Sint Jans (c. 1465 – c. 1495), also known as Geertgen van Haarlem,[1][2] Gerrit van Haarlem, Gerrit Gerritsz, Gheertgen,[3] Geerrit,[2] Gheerrit,[3] or any other diminutive form of Gerald,[4] was an Early Netherlandish painter from the northern Low Countries in the Holy Roman Empire. No contemporary documentation of his life has been traced, and the earliest published account of his life and work is from 1604, in Karel van Mander's Schilder-boeck.[5]

According to van Mander, Geertgen was probably a pupil of Albert van Ouwater,[6] one of the first oil painters in the northern Low Countries. Both painters lived in the city of Haarlem,[7] where Geertgen was attached to the house of the Knights of Saint John, perhaps as a lay brother, for whom he painted an altarpiece. In van Mander's book he states that Geertgen took the name of St. John without joining the order, thus his last name "tot Sint Jans" was derived from the order's name and means "unto Saint John".[6]

  1. ^ Getty ULAN entry He may also have been known as Gerrit Gerritsz – see Campbell, 232
  2. ^ a b Stechow, Wolfgang (1966). Geertgen van Haarlem. Northwestern University Press. ISBN 9780810108493. Retrieved 2008-04-06. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  3. ^ a b Mander, Karel van (1604). "Het leven van Geertgen tot S. Ians, Schilder van Haerlem". [Het Schilder-Boeck] (in Dutch). [Digital Library of Dutch Literature]. Retrieved 2008-04-05.
  4. ^ Campbell, 232
  5. ^ The Schilderboeck in the Digitale Bibliotheek der Nederlandse Letteren (DBNL, "Digital Library of Dutch Literature")
  6. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference rijksmuseum was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Mander, Karel van (1604). "T'leven van Albert van Ouwater, Schilder van Haerlem". [Het Schilder-Boeck] (in Dutch). [Digital Library of Dutch Literature]. Retrieved 2008-04-05.