Hubert van Eyck

The Three Marys at the Tomb, painted ?? (perhaps between 1410 and 1420)

Hubert van Eyck (also Huybrecht van Eyck) (c. 1385–90 – 18 September 1426) was a Flemish painter and older brother of Jan van Eyck. He was probably born in Maaseik, Flanders, now in Belgium.

He became court painter to Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, settling in Ghent by c. 1420. Shortly afterwards, he began his only surviving documented work, the Ghent Altarpiece in the Saint Bavo Cathedral. However the painting was not finished until six years after his death, in 1432, so the degree to which the surviving altarpiece reflects his work, rather than that of Jan who took it over, remains much discussed. An inscription on the altarpiece, presumably composed by Jan, credits Hubert with the inspiration and major role in the work, but today this is often regarded as overgenerous. Given the circumstances, the Ghent Altarpiece is a difficult work to use for comparison when assessing other attributions, especially as several other artists from the brothers' workshops probably worked on it as well.

The town Magistrates of Ghent visited his workshop in 1425. He died on 18 September 1426 and was buried in Saint Bavo’s Cathedral. A copper inscription recording his date of death was engraved on the tombstone, but is now missing. According to a tradition from the 16th century, his arm was preserved as a relic in a casket above the portal of Saint Bavo of Ghent.

The division of surviving works between Hubert, early Jan van Eyck, and other painters has been the subject of great debate among art historians, involving the Ghent Altarpiece, the Turin-Milan Hours and other pieces. After a period in the mid 20th century when the tendency was to attribute work away from Hubert, he has made something of a comeback in recent decades, but there is still a wide range of opinion among specialists.

See also

• Jan Van Eyck
• Oil Painting

External links

• Entry for Hubert van Eyck on the Union List of Artist Names
• Hubert van Eyck at Artcyclopedia
• Hubert Van Eyck biography at Grove Dictionary of art
• Hubert Van Eyck biography at Web Gallery of Art
•  Chisholm, Hugh, ed (1911). "Eyck, van". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.