Jan Lievens
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Jan Lievens (1607–1674) was a painter and an excellent drawer from Leiden. In his early years he was a student of Pieter Lastman in Amsterdam. After two years as an apprentice he began his career as an independent artist at age twelve in Leiden.
He collaborated and shared a studio with Rembrandt van Rijn in 1626. Lievens painted on a larger scale then Rembrandt, but was also judged as more inventive and less expressive. This was written by Constantijn Huygens who thought both men were very stubborn for being unwilling to go to Italy. The two men split in 1631; Rembrandt moved to Amsterdam and Lievens to England. Obviously there was competition between the painters, Rembrandt copied Lievens more than once, and put his name on paintings by Lievens. In 1656 Rembrandt still owned paintings by his former friend Lievens.
During his time in England Lievens did a portrait for Thomas Howard, 21st Earl of Arundel and became influenced by the works of Anthony van Dyck. Lievens worked in Antwerp, The Hague, Berlin, but went back to Amsterdam in 1655. After his first wife died he married a sister of Jan de Bray in 1648. At the end of his life Lievens had increasing financial difficulties and his family voided all claims of inheritance on his death due to his debts.
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