Realist and Graffitist: Jan Van Eyck and the Northern Renaissance

The Northern Renaissance of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries produced some of the most exquisite images in the history of Western art; costumes, characters and curios were recorded with splendour and realism never seen before.

This was partly due to the technique of painting with oil, a slow method which allowed artists to closely study the world around them. It was mastered by the artist Jan van Eyck.

Van Eyck’s paintings of clarity, luminosity and precision are now celebrated as gems of the Northern Renaissance. This talk looks at his work, and the artist behind one of the earliest uses of graffiti in art history!