| Jan Meyssens | |
|---|---|
Jan Meyssens engraved after a self-portrait, by his son Cornelis Meyssens. |
|
| Birth name | Joannes |
| Born | 17 May 1612 Brussels |
| Died | 18 September 1670 (aged 58) Antwerp |
| Nationality | Belgium |
| Field | Painting, Engraving, Printing |
| Movement | Baroque |
Joannes, Jean, or Jan Meyssens (1612–1670), was a Flemish Baroque painter, engraver, and printer.
According to the RKD he was born in Brussels, but moved to Antwerp at an early age, where he became master of the Guild of St. Luke in 1640.[1] He married Anna Jacobs (died 1678). He influenced Theodoor van Merlen.[1] According to Houbraken, Johannes (Jan) Mijtens was trained by Anthony van Opstal and later by Nicolas van der Horst. Both of his uncles, Isaac Mijtens and Daniël Mijtens, were painters, and his son Cornelis became an engraver.[2] This statement has often been repeated by various art historians, but unfortunately, Houbraken mixed up his notes on this artist with his notes on Jan Mytens, the Dutch painter. This Jan Meyssens did have a son Cornelis who was a good engraver, but it's not clear whether his uncles were painters. A later biographer of Jan Meyssens, Christiaan Kramm, stated that Meyssens learned to paint from Anthony van Opstal and later by Nicolas van der Horst. He discovered the Houbraken mistake by comparing the engravings of Jan Meyssens and Jan Mytens in the two books by Arnold Houbraken and Cornelis de Bie.[3]
He had a successful business collaborating with contemporary painters and engravers, and is most notable today for his book of prints called Image de divers hommes desprit sublime qui par leur art et science devront vivre eternellement et des quels la lovange et renommée faict estonner le monde, A Anvers mis en lumiere par Iean Meyssens peinctre et vendeur de lart au Cammestraet l'an .M.DC.XLIX, published in 1649.[4] This book, with the engraved portraits of many famous men, including many painters, was used again and again as a source for art historians, most notably in Cornelis de Bie's, Het Gulden Cabinet (Antwerp, 1662), who wrote this work on instigation of Meyssen. Years later an English version was published, called The True Effigies Of the most Eminent Painters, and other famous artists that have flourished in Europe (London, 1694).
The notes that Meyssens wrote under each engraving have been used as biographical notes for later art historians such as Arnold Houbraken and Joachim von Sandrart.