Jacob Jordaens

A close friend of Peter Paul Rubens, Jacob Jordaens was nearly as revered in Northern Europe, despite his disinterest in the highly regarded works of the Italian Renaissance. In fact, unlike Rubens, Anthony van Dyck, and other Flemish painters aspiring to their acclaim, Jordaens never traveled to Italy to study the works of masters like Michelangelo, and Raphael. Also unlike his contemporaries, Jordaens (the son of a wealthy merchant) did not paint the everyday lives of Flemish people, but instead worked mostly on commissions from wealthy patrons or governmental offices, depicting biblical, mythological, and historical scenes. Rubens greatly influenced his painting style and the two artists share a love of chiaroscuro, warm color pallets, and naturalism—although Jordaens can be distinguished by his closer adherence to realism and his crowded compositions. After Rubens’ death in 1640, Jordaens became the premier Northern European painter, a status he would enjoy until his own death in 1678.