Jan van Eyck

Jan van Eyck (c. 1390-1441) painted with a precision that seems impossible, down to the glint of a jewel and a single hair. For centuries he was said to have invented oil painting: he did not, but no one before him had used it like this, in glazes, that is, thin transparent layers of colour laid one over another, to make light shine. His masterpiece is the Ghent Altarpiece, finished in 1432 for the church that is now Ghent Cathedral, where it still stands.

In this collection you will find the Dresden Triptych, the Madonna in the Church, the Madonna at the Fountain, the portrait of Cardinal Niccolò Albergati and three details of the Ghent Altarpiece: the Almighty, the Virgin Mary and the Singing Angels, printed on handmade Amalfi paper.

Among Italian painters, the one who looked most closely at Flemish painting is Antonello da Messina; for the Flemish painters who came after, see the Hieronymus Bosch collection.