Know the Artist: Jan van Eyck

Early Netherlandish painter Jan van Eyck (b. Belgium, 1390?–1441) created some of the most treasured masterpieces in art history. After centuries of flat, disproportionate pictures, van Eyck set a new precedent for painterly realism.

This is Several Circles, where we tell the stories of extraordinary artists from across history and the present day. We believe art history content should be accessible—free of charge and impenetrable jargon, but abundant in fascinating facts, illuminating analyses, and entertaining anecdotes.

Each episode is written and hosted by Rachel, an art journalist-turned-copywriter at The Met, and produced by Jason, a New York City art technician. The fuzzy feline superstars are Jimmy (big and bushy) and Tallulah (small with thumbs).

We started this channel to indulge our fascination with what compels an artist to create the way they do, and we intend to grow it into a vast and celebratory archive of the weird and wonderful eccentrics who constitute the art history continuum.

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