Jan Sanders van Hemessen

Biography

Jan Sanders van Hemessen (c.1504 – 1556)
Jan Sanders van Hemessen was a Flemish artist active in Antwerp between the 1520s and 1550s, mainly specializing in biblical subjects and moralizing genre scenes. Often focusing on human character flaws such as vanity and greed, his compositions are lively, often flamboyant, and usually densely filled with muscular, energetic figures. After an apprenticeship with Hendrik van Cleve I from 1519 to 1520, van Hemessen traveled extensively through Italy, where the art of classical antiquity and the Renaissance had a profound impact on his painting style. By 1524 he had established himself as a master of the Guild of St. Luke in Antwerp. His marriage to the daughter of a wealthy merchant produced two daughters, of whom one, Catharina van Hemessen (1528-after 1587), became a successful portraitist in her own right.