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Geertgen tot Sint Jans
("Little Gerrit [who lives] at St. John's [Commandery]")
Chronology
Again, very little is known about this Haarlem artist, who lived at the Commandery of the Knights of St. John (also known as the Knights of Malta). With this kind of room-and-board job for a religious brotherhood, he was exempt from painters' guild membership, and didn't have to keep records.
According to Van Mander, he was born in Leyden, was a pupil of Albert van Ouwater, lived at the Commandery of St. John, and died when he was 28 years old. We THINK this may have been around 1495(?) and that he may have been either an apprentice or journeyman in BRUGES around 1475. In any case, his work is original, rare, and charming.
For more on Geertgen see:
- Grove Dictionary of Art entry (online)
- Snyder, "The Early Haarlem School of painting," ART BULLETIN, 1960
- Campbell, 15 c. Netherlandish Schools (Nat. Gallery London) (on Reserve)
- Chatelet, Early Dutch Painting (on Reserve)